What Can We Learn from Showrooming?

Showrooming is a consumer trend that has traditional retailers losing sleep and business over.  Showrooming is the practice of viewing an item at a retail store and then buying it online for less. It is aided by the use of mobile phones in stores, which 82% of us do.

Business Insider reports that smartphones (mCommerce) have influenced 5% of store sales in 2012, a total of $159 billion.

Internet connection and smartphones are the technological advancements that have helped create this trend. But no less important is the simple math of the matter: shoppers will prefer buying at a lower price. Surely, there are factors other than price involved too. These allow traditional retailers to combat the showrooming trend in a number of ways, to varying degrees of success.

Combating Showrooming

Stores are dealing with the trend in a number of ways. As expected, and as the following examples show, they will exhaust any means necessary to combat the trend:

• Membership incentives to shop at the store: the Sam’s Club model
• Consistent pricing and promotions: retailers are more successful when offering the better deal at the store rather than online
• Cancel shipping costs for in-store purchases
• In-store pickup for online orders
• Same-day service: most recently trending at Walmart and Google
• Price Match Guarantees: in January, Target announced it will match the price offered on Amazon and Walmart.com on purchases, within a week of purchase with proof in form of website or printed ad.

Attention Amazon Marketplace Sellers

All of the above methods to combat showrooming come to show that it is not price alone that affects shoppers. By offering incentives that involve pricing and other elements, retailers can keep business in stores.

Likewise is the case on Amazon Marketplace. Do not run your price to the ground, certainly not at a loss. The optimal price is part of the optimal package, and not simply the lowest price. Which brings us to repricing services.

A smart repricer will not emphasize price alone, will not drive your price to the ground, will not follow strict rules. A smart reprices will help you optimize your sales and profits ? not at all costs, but at the right cost.

Just like with retailers, Amazon Marketplace sellers must take into consideration the bigger picture: benefits, consistency to transparency, to name a few. There is a lot of ecommerce business out there; don’t miss out!

Contact Feedvisor and learn how our SMART repricing service can optimize your sales.