In a relatively new twist to comparison shopping, today’s tech-equipped shoppers often visit a store to evaluate an item, then use their smartphones to “shop” for a lower price or similar product at another store. Known as “showrooming,” the practice may actually help retailers by generating increased sales.
A recent article in TimeBusiness points to a study by the mobile marketing firm Vibes, which says that, while consumers may be visiting stores with their smartphones, the number of shoppers who leave a store to buy somewhere else is relatively small--just 6% of shoppers overall. What’s more, while 82% of shoppers visit a store with their smartphones, nearly a third said that they ended up purchasing the item from the physical store’s own website.
Online and in-store teams must work together.
Granted, although this type of showrooming cuts into a store employee’s commission, it’s certainly better than losing the sale to a competitor. Whether an item is rung up at a store’s physical register or dropped into an online shopping cart, a sale is a sale. Retailers need to jettison the counterproductive idea of the in-store team vs. the online team. As the Vibes report notes, “They have separate teams and business units for each with different approaches, offers and information and even prices.” The report regards these distinctions as foolish and outdated, resulting in confused shoppers and negatively impacting sales. Both online and in-store teams should be on the “same page.” The goal is to provide a seamless sales experience regardless of venue.
Shopping apps turn showrooming into sales.
While you can’t stop shoppers from using smartphones in your store, you can turn the habit to your advantage. Target and other retailers have launched shopping apps that offer incentives for in-store browsing and purchasing. The app, which is free for iPhones and Android phones, works with such major retailers as Best Buy, Home Depot, Old Navy, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Target stores nationwide. Other retailers have begun highlighting products that can be “showroomed” because they're not available in other stores.
Work to put an end buyer’s remorse.
The key to surviving showrooming, which is here to stay, is to exploit it. Vibes advises retailers who offer price matching to train their sales associates to approach showrooming customers with offers and information to help close the sale. The Vibes survey found that nearly half of showrooming shoppers said they felt better about their purchase after engaging in in-store research and shopping around using their phones. Smartphone shopping assuages shoppers’ concerns that a product they just bought may have poor reviews or that they could have gotten a better price at another store.
The bottom line is that if you’re selling a quality product at a fair price, showrooming will only help rather than hurt a sale. According to the Vibes survey, just 15% of shoppers said they were dissuaded from their purchase after they scanned an item with a smartphone for product reviews or more information.
Image courtesy of MorgueFile.com
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