Revisiting The Touchpoint-Impact Framework For 2014

Consumers connect with brands throughout the customer life cycle — they discover, explore, buy, and engage using a multitude of touchpoints. In the explore phase, consumers use a variety of information sources and channels to research the products and services they discover. But some sources are more effective than others at driving consumers to the buy phase and have a stronger influence on the price they ultimately pay for their purchase. Furthermore, different consumer groups use channels differently and with unique purpose in their diverse paths-to-purchase. This document builds on a 2013 report that introduced Forrester's touchpoint-impact framework. In this edition, we use that framework to examine three groups of consumers and their most influential research sources for apparel and personal care purchases as well as the premium they pay.