Showrooming
Showrooming is the practice of examining merchandise in a traditional
The reverse phenomenon of showrooming is "research online, purchase offline", also known as webrooming. This is where customers research a product online before buying it at a physical store.
Prevalence
A 2012
Effects on retailers
Showrooming can be costly to retailers, not only in terms of the loss of the sale, but also due to damage caused to the store's floor samples of a product through repeated examination from consumers.[citation needed]
Showrooming[6] was said to be behind the collapse of UK photography chain Jessops[7] and Target’s decision to discontinue carrying the Amazon Kindle.[1]
Efforts to combat showrooming by retailers
Many retailers have tried to compete with showroomers by slashing their own prices. Independent businesses, however, are advised to counter showrooming by adding value via included services and other tactics, such as making information and reviews more readily available to customers so that they might not choose to seek it out online.[8]
Some major retailers, such as Target, are attempting to battle showrooming by selling products exclusive to their stores. Walmart is allowing customers to avoid the shipping charges of online purchases by picking up the items in the stores. The same practice is expanding to European countries.[citation needed]
Some specialty fashion stores in the U.S. and Australia have introduced a "fitting fee" for browsing, which is refunded in full if the customer makes a purchase.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Is 'showrooming' behind Target move to drop Kindle?". Content.usatoday.com. 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
- ^ Wharton School, Turning the Retail ‘Showrooming Effect’ into a Value-add, Knowledge@Wharton, published 26 September 2012, accessed 25 August 2023
- ISBN 978-0133084047.
- ^ "Accenture Study Shows U.S. Consumers Want a Seamless Shopping Experience Across Store, Online and Mobile that Many Retailers are Struggling to Deliver - Accenture Newsroom". newsroom.accenture.com.
- ^ "Navigating the new digital divide - Deloitte US - Retail & Distribution". Deloitte United States.
- ^ Statistics about Showrooming in the Retail Environment. Statista. April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Campbell, Alex (21 April 2013). "The peril of 'showrooming'". BBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Woods, Casey (2012-11-26). "Seven Ways Businesses and Communities Can Fight "Showrooming"". Retrieved 2012-11-26.
- ^ "Best Buy turns the tables on 'showrooming'". 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
External links
- Media related to Showrooms (marketing location) at Wikimedia Commons