6 Ways to Combat Showrooming

If you’re a small retailer, you’ve probably heard the term “showrooming,” which refers to a growing trend in which consumers visit physical stores to view and touch products, then look up information about the product online using their smartphones.

Showrooming consumers may be looking for product reviews or ratings; more information or details about a product; or different color options than are on display. What makes brick-and-mortar retailers nervous, however, is when showroomers start comparing prices and looking for places to buy the product cheaper—whether that’s online or at your competitor down the street.

According to statistics cited by the Canadian Marketing Association, one in four Canadian consumers currently practice showrooming, and a third of Canadians say they research product prices online before buying, whether the ultimate purchase is made at a brick-and-mortar store or online. The worst-case scenario, of course, is a customer using his or her smartphone to buy a product you sell from another retailer—right in your store. While this is still rare (statistics from Arcus cited by the CMA show only about 10 percent of Canadian ecommerce purchases in 2012 took place on mobile devices), the trend is increasing by about 4 percent annually.

What influences shoppers to showroom and buy elsewhere than your store? Unfortunately for small businesses, price is the biggest factor. Bigger retailers have combated the showrooming trend by offering to match any prices that customers find online. That may or may not be an option for you, depending on what you sell. However, even if price matching seems like a solution, offering to match, say, Amazon’s pricing could quickly lead your business down a slippery slope to shrinking profit margins.