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Merrick, NY—If your business doesn't have a strong online presence, you might have thought you made the right choice when you saw the recent headline, "Study Shows Consumers Prefer Shopping in a Store, Not Online." In fact, clicks are turning to bricks as more than a few pure-play e-tailers have begun to open physical store locations.

And while the headline study, which was conducted by Nielsen, says, "The good news for brick-and-mortar retailers is that Americans prefer buying at the physical store," fear of online shopping is only part of the story and the online world is still very relevant. For the still-growing percentage of online shoppers and for those that market to them, a few additional statistics stand out:

Age matters. According to Nielsen: "But while Millennials comprise more than half of respondents (53%) who plan to make an online purchase across every product category in the study, older generations represent a sizeable 40% share, too." The study notes that a greater amount of the population will be connected as time goes on, so garnering customer loyalty now is a good way to build lifetime customers.

For the savvy retailer, this means that even if your customers are older, they are not ignoring the Internet. Nor should you.

Device matters. In terms of online purchases in the next six months, computers lead online purchases, followed by smart phones, then tablets.

For the savvy retailer, this points to having a 'responsive' website, defined as Web design that provides an optimal viewing experience, no matter what size device it is being viewed upon.

Another similar study, "The Changing Face of Retail Sales," a Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group report from August 2014 notes that customer may not buy online but they browse online. "Another trend that has come about in recent years has been an increase in price comparison shopping through the use of mobile devices," notes this study.

So while it may be comforting to know that Americans still prefer purchasing in the store, many who find their way into a store have done so through browsing and research online. While this may be a good case for a non-e-commerce enabled site, it still points to having a robust presence online so that those that research during non-business hours can know about your business and what you sell, enticing them to come into your store.  And in the future, if the balance shifts, you’re already well positioned to transition into e-commerce without having to build an online presence from scratch.

Top image: Wearona.com