Good news for retailers with companion websites: multichannel consumers -- those who shop both on- and offline -- typically spend significantly more than those who shop only online or only offline, Nielsen PreView reported Monday. 

Shoppers who browsed for products both on- and offline at Wal-Mart, for example, spent 38% more than the store’s average customers.

The online/offline consumer connection goes even further, according to Nielsen. 

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers who purchased electronics in brick-and-mortar stores first researched the products they bought online, according to Nielsen.

Among those who conducted Internet research before buying electronics, 53% bought from the brick-and-mortar store on whose website they spent the most time researching. 

Only 20% of consumers purchased electronics at a local store whose website they had not visited -- an indication that online research encourages retailer loyalty among consumers.

That’s doubly good news for retailers with informative websites.  

Read Nielsen PreView’s report.