Search phase
The reasons for using a given communication channel vary at the search phase. Analysis of the correlation between these reasons and the various channels indicates that respondents primarily view stores as an opportunity to see and touch furniture (respective correlations of 0.33 and 0.36), as well as a familiar way to gather information (corr. 1⁄4 0.22). The average importance of each channel cited is greater for women than men (t-tests):