Street Address vs. Facebook Profile

Which would you rather have a consumer provide?

In the review of a web site, we asked the typical question:  Which elements lead to a purchase?

The category is lifestyle - pure and simple; consumers are social and share their stories; the site is filled with content and user experiences.  The profile form is simple - asking only the minimum required information (email and phone), the rest of the contact information is optional. 

The available data covered all types of behavioral activity, search processes, web page paths, content interactions and social referrals.   All good stuff and all best practices.

Question:   What is the most important activity related to future purchases?
Answer:   Providing a street address in an optional field.

Of the 100+ variables evaluated - the fact that a consumer had provided his/her home address was the a significant predictor of a purchase by a wide margin.   Not what they had looked at, watched, configured, downloaded, or shared.  Not whether they came from social networks, organic deep links, or paid search.
 
While we have often several email addresses and multiple phone numbers - we usually have one street address.   This analysis suggests that if I'm willing to provide the one form of contact that I can't ignore - I'm engaged and on the path to purchase.  

So, just because we're thinking digital don't overlook the terrestrial.