How To Outsmart Showrooming

Showrooming Definition: Making a purchase on the Web 

after looking at the same merchandise in a bricks and mortar 
store.  Showroomning is similar to receiving help from a 
in a small store and buying the same item at a lower price 
in a big store.

There is a myth that showrooming is only happening in big
Box stores like Best Buy and Costco. The truth is that
Showrooming is happening right now in your store.

Customers are in your stores price shopping your products 
and walking out of your store empty-handed. Below are various 
strategies to outsmart showrooming.

Amazon: Your Arch Nemesis











Amazon is the brainchild behind showrooming, last year they 
launched a mobile app called “Amazon Price Check” which allows 
customers to scan an item in a bricks-and-mortar retailer and compare 
the price with Amazon. Since Amazon is an online retailer, buyers do
not have to pay sales taxes, which can save a decent amount of money 
when buying big-ticket items

In-Store Marketing

Now is not the time to be subtle or bury your head in the sand. Your 

customers are price shopping in your store. You need to attack 

showrooming head-on with aggressive in-store marketing. Let your 

customers know that you will beat online prices, guaranteed. I 
recommend posting your signs throughout the store, especially at 
eye level before customers exit your store.

Reward Customer Loyalty

Staples does a great job rewarding their customers with their 
rewards checks-- which are cleverly disguised as bounce-back 
coupons. I belong to a lot of rewards programs and, in my opinion, 
Staples does the best job creating perceived REAL value. Is your 
rewards program creating loyal consumers?  

Employee Service That Breeds Loyalty

Online buying is like commodity trading: you want the best deal
and that’s it, no emotion or engagement.  However, traditional
bricks-and-mortar shopping is emotional and includes the valuable
human element.

Brick-and-mortar retailers need to train and empower their
employees to create memorable customer experiences. Pay attention
to your employees’ verbal and non-verbal communication and watch
how they engage with your customers. As a manager,  spend time
outside and watch your customers as they leave your store--are they
smiling?

Fight Technology with Technology

                                                                                                 

My last piece of advice for retailers is to offer your customers 

mobile alternatives to showrooming. Jump on the Shopkick® 

bandwagon which rewards customers for in-store shopping

and last year generated $110 million in revenue for their retail 

partners. The RetailMeNot® app is another smart mobile option 

which offers customers mobile coupons.

What smart solutions have you implemented to battle showrooming?

Sources: internet retailer, social commerce today, bizjournals, orkiv, pcmag