1st ARTICLE: Buying Cameras Online vs. In-Store: Why Showrooming is Hurting Your Local Shops
June 23, 2024

https://www.adaminsights.com/buying-cameras-online-vs-in-store-why-showrooming-is-hurting-your-local-shops/

"Have you ever seen something you wanted in a shop, tried it out, checked the price online on your smartphone, found it cheaper, and walked out? Welcome to the world of “showrooming.” A stark reminder of this issue could be seen in the British camera chain Jessops, which placed a sign in their shop window shortly after going into administration: “The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon.”

The Impact of Showrooming
Showrooming is a growing problem for brick-and-mortar retailers. It’s not illegal, but it destroys livelihoods. Physical stores have to pay rent, bills, and staff salaries. Online retailers can offer cheaper prices because they don’t have these overheads.

The Moral Consequences of Showrooming
Think about the impact you are having on people’s lives when you showroom. Consider the sign at Jessops: “The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon.” This sign was a dry reaction to a serious problem. If too many customers showroom, physical shops may disappear altogether, leaving online retailers with fewer competitors and potentially higher prices in the long run.

In 2013, the owner of Celiac Supplies in Coorparoo, took a controversial step to combat showrooming by charging customers $5 for browsing. This may seem extreme, but it highlights a real problem: people come in, seek her advice, then take their business elsewhere."

2nd ARTICLE: One in three shoppers are engage in “showrooming”
Way back from the start of 2018.

"A survey of more than 2000 respondents shows nearly one in three Aussie shoppers admit to showrooming, while a further 14% say they would have done it in the past had they thought of it.
This is despite 16% of respondents admitting they feel ‘showrooming’ is unfair to bricks-and-mortar stores.
New South Wales and Western Australia were found to be most prone to the trend, with 34% of respondents in each of the two states admitting to it."

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/one-in-three-shoppers-are-engage-in-showrooming/

Our comments: That is 1 in 3 shoppers showrooming from before covid where it is reported that in a few short years of being in covid lockdown conditions internet use and practices changed a decade due to people spending time at home and online. The rest of this article attempting to explain that "showrooming isn’t so bad" because... "reasons" is at best wishful thinking and at worst delusional. Customers who shop in-store will simply buy online if they find the item cheaper elsewhere or from an online only store.

3rd ARTICLE: Cost Cutting in Retail: 18 Ways to Reduce Operating Expenses

https://www.shopify.com/au/retail/cost-cutting-retail

Our comments: Most of the 18 steps are predictable, logical and non brainers. Pay attention to number 6 that directly addresses showromming.

6. Consider a smaller space with showrooming
"For retailers experiencing significant sales online, it might make sense to go online completely. But before doing so, make sure your online customers don’t depend on the in-store experience as part of their shopping. Many prefer to shop in-store because they can interact with products before buying them.

In that case, consider a low inventory store using the showrooming strategy. You can reduce operational costs such as light, rent, and heating with a smaller store, showcasing just a handful of core items. This approach also allows customers to visit and interact with the product, then visit your website to complete their purchase."

Our comments: So shopify - an online only website selling ecommerce website building subscription based services with 100% bias to an online only future - suggest you don’t need a functional showroom for customers. That a static gallery with a fraction of items available in store is ... near enough? Basically its online only with a token approach to a physical location. This wont even be close to functional as a working showroom with many speciality items that have to be individually demoed, compared with other brands and models, and phisically held and evaluated in person usually over a few hours in store. Items like high end camera's, high-end furniture or Hi-Fi equipment or speciality audio products to name a few.

With this sort of advice is it even a mystery that many physical stores are looking at not having all, or even many, of the specific items they sell physically in stock in store to demonstrate at any one time? That it won’t be available for demonstration locally and they will "have to order it in for you" or "you can just order one online"? If stocking the item, and the cost that incurs, means having to sell it at a large discount to match an online only price from another vendor why have it in store at all? How can a store stock any item that is not going to be profitable? 

4th ARTICLE What Is Showrooming vs. Webrooming?

February 9, 2023

https://www.salsify.com/blog/what-are-webrooming-and-showrooming

"What Is Webrooming?
Webrooming is when a consumer browses a product online but then makes their final purchase in a store. According to Salsify’s “2024 Consumer Research” report, a survey of thousands of shoppers in the U.S. and U.K., 63% of shoppers are guilty of webrooming.

There are a number of reasons why someone may shop like this. For example, if a consumer researching a product online sees that it’s available in a nearby store, they may go pick it up so they can get the product immediately without having to pay for shipping.

Webrooming gives people an opportunity to do most of their browsing from the comfort of their homes but still see and feel a product before purchasing.

Here’s a perfect webrooming example: Someone looking for new hiking boots wants to compare styles, features, and prices online, but they still think it’s important to try the shoes on before taking them on the trail if they want to guarantee a great fit."

Our comments: We love it when we have informed, educated customers who come in having done some research online. It usually makes the in store experience easier and the demonstration run smoother. Webrooming is nothing like showrooming however so its a false equivalency to have them side by side as to how they impact physical store.

What Is Showrooming?
"Showrooming is when a consumer looks at products in a store but makes their final purchase online. Forty-eight percent of shoppers admitted to showrooming in Salsify’s survey.

It’s become common practice for consumers to browse online retailers even while standing inside a brick-and-mortar store. According to Salsify’s consumer research, 54% of shoppers have used a smartphone to learn more about a product while in a physical store, and 23% of shoppers have used a smartphone to buy a product while in a physical store.

Some retailers are understandably frustrated by showrooming, as it can drive more sales to competitors. But the practice isn’t going anywhere — Shopify and Forrester also echoed that 54% of consumers are likely to look at a product in-store and later buy it online. Retailers need to adapt to this behaviour instead of fighting it."

Our comments: So this information is from Salsify who refer to themselves as "a product experience management platform'. AKA an online only e-commerce platform seller. Their advice "Retailers need to adapt to this behaviour instead of fighting it". Right.

Salsify sate: "Showrooming may have a bad reputation for “stealing sales,” but showroomers don’t always buy from competitors. If you give them a great shopping experience both online and off, you’ll be able to retain them across channels". Once again we are back to at best non logic wishful thinking and at worst delusional.

The large percent, and rising, of people showrooming is irrefutable based on the direction retail is heading. It's not about in-store experiences, great service with a smile or any of that. It comes down to cold hard cash for most. Shoppers go to see the item in store. Demo the item. Use all the retail assistance knowledge and experience. The shopper then know they like the item. Make a purchase decision based of this interaction. THEN go looking to find it cheaper online elsewhere and so make the purchase elsewhere. Lets not fool ourselves it is just about the bottom line for the vast majority of shoppers.

It costs more to run a physical bricks and mortar while also maintaining that online store. It costs very little in overheads to run online only. 100% less the cost of running that physical location! Salsify sate: "Online retailers often offer products at lower prices than can be found in stores. You can counter this by offering exclusive in-store sales" No a bricks and mortar literally cannot do this and survive long term. Bricks and mortar have overheads they can’t match or offer a better price than an online only store with no overheads. It's pie in the sky delusional nonsensical thinking to believe otherwise.

It’s a simple situation: can a customer visit a physical store and state "I am letting you know I will be using your experience, knowledge, services and time today. Using your professional expensive showroom for an hour or two to demonstrate the item(s) I select. Then after I am satisfied, and ready to make a purchasing decision based on all your hard work and the costs put into your professional showroom, I will leaving and will be buying online at the cheapest vendor I can". Do you think most physical retail stores would go ahead with that relationship or politely ask the "customer" to leave? 

Recall from article 2: 16% of respondents admitting they feel ‘showrooming’ is unfair to bricks-and-mortar stores. So that means 84% do not feel this way. It’s why the situation doesn’t happen. Even when a customer is actively showrooming they won’t admit or disclose this to the retail store.

Out take for 2025: What we have right now are biased online ecommerce platform providers increasingly trying to influence and gaslight the average shopper into the belief that the act of showrooming isn't morally and ethically wrong. That the practice isn’t really hurting physical retail operators AND in the long term, when there are no more speciality physical retail options near them, (Article one) the customer themselves. As the staff at Jessop camera stores from article one would say: “The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon.”