Gathering information in a retail store and then making a purchase online — commonly known as ‘showrooming’ — is picking up steam among consumers and becoming a top concern for brick-and-mortar retailers jilted by the practice.
A 2012 ClickIQ survey reveals that 45.9% of online shoppers are showroomers, and 51% of 16,000 respondents to another recent survey expect all physical retail locations to be primarily showrooms in eight years.
The showroom trend is sure to grow in the years ahead as online shopping proliferates and more consumers consult their mobile phones while in the store.
Respondents to a recent Neilsen survey rate online purchasing as their “overall favorite” (59%), “easiest” (68%) and “most convenient” (68%), and Forrester pegs online sales to grow at a 10% CAGR through 2013.
New research from Deloitte suggests that more than 5% of store sales during 2012 will be influenced by mobile phones, and by 2016, that influence will grow to 19% of sales, or $689 billion.
The drivers for showrooming are pretty straightforward. According to the ClickIQ survey, price (86.8%), no shipping/delivery cost (51.7%), and product availability (51.5%) top the list.
No brick-and-mortar retailer is immune to showrooming, and the cost in lost revenue can be staggering. So what can retailers do to combat this seemingly unstoppable phenomenon?
It’s an interesting use case for SAP HANA.
Read article by Optimal Solutions President Sam Sliman: Combat Showrooming with SAP HANA
