Making direct purchases from a phone isn’t the only way to use mobile devices when shopping. In fact, it’s not even the most common.
“Showrooming” occurs when consumers use their mobile devices to engage in price-checking while in physical retail stores, often times to see if they can get a similar product for cheaper online. That’s great news for online retailers, but for many traditional brick-and-mortar retail outlets, showrooming comes with a big potential loss of revenue.
How often do people showroom, and what can merchants do to combat the practice? An IDC Retail Insights report offers some clues.
Impressive Showrooming Stats
Showrooming activates are expected to influence between $700 million and $1.7 billion in retail purchases which, absurd margin of error aside, offer some impressive boundaries. Around 70 percent of responders said they’re more likely to make purchases from retailers who offer “full featured” mobile sites and provide omnichannel convenience. Overall, showrooming is expected to increase 134 percent this holiday season compared to last.
You Can Fight Showrooming In The Short Term
The report indicates that the best way for retailers to currently fight showrooming is through employing knowledgeable store associates. Fifty-six to 60 percent of shoppers aid that they’d be more likely to make an in-store purchase if assisted by a knowledgeable store associate – that can help combat the 64 percent of consumers who said what the learn in stores via smartphones is just as influential as the research they do before shopping.
But Showrooming Is Here To Stay
But while store associates can help mitigate showrooming losses now, the mobile phenomenon is still projected to grow into the future. Forty-eight million U.S. shoppers are expected to use smartphones in stores this holiday season, and that number is expected to grow to 59 million in 2013, 69 million in 2014 and 78 million in 2015.
To read more showrooming statistics, check out Mobile Commerce Daily’s report here.
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