What’s this mean?
That people are picking out what they want to buy while at work, during the day.
Then they’re going home and buying.

Why’s this important?
Because that will greatly affect direct conversions reported because they’re finding what they want through one computer, and making the purchase on another. So, no cookie.

We’ve been banging the direct conversion drum for so long, it’s getting worn out.

Direct Conversions are not a completely accurate portrayal of purchasing behavior.
It’s so important that marketers know that the effect their SEM efforts have on sales has always been under-reported, and  is even more under-reported now.

By SEM I mean both pay-per-click and organic rankings too. People find products under generic searches at work (like say, men’s argyle sweater). Once they’ve found what they  like, at night when they’re home  they go right to the site (or search for the brand that they liked) and purchase.

They make the purchase on a different computer, which means there’s no trail.

Reporting statistics can only be given so much weight. They shouldn’t be considered an exact measurement of what’s going on.