Local Corp. has unveiled the preliminary data from its report that shows that the modern consumer takes a highly personalized path to purchase and utilizes a wide variety of devices to do so, including PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Still, 90 percent of the shoppers surveyed said that a physical store was still important in the purchasing process.

However, as evidence of a changing landscape, 60 percent of respondents said they researched products or services several times a month using a mobile device of some sort. Meanwhile, PCs are still a major part of the purchasing process.

The survey’s results were culled from the responses of 1,026 consumers and explored their behavior across an array of mobile devices, including asking about preferences and plans for researching and purchasing multiple types of products. Ultimately, the survey reveals that due to the proliferation of available devices and channels, consumers are more frequently displaying pre-purchase behaviors based on their individually specific needs and interests.

Other interesting highlights from the survey include:

-          28 percent of researchers used two devices at a time to find information

-          Over one-third of shoppers have made a purchase on a mobile device in the past six months, with tablet shoppers using their devices to shop more frequently

-          47 percent said they use smartphones to search for local information

-          42 percent of respondents said they use the Web to check inventory prior to shopping at a brick-and-mortar store

-          Ratings/reviews and search listings top the list of most influential things to the shopper’s choice of destination at 41 and 37 percent, respectively

-          31 percent of shoppers expect to research products and services more on their smartphones in the next year, while 41 percent plan to use tablets more for research