More evidence of "show-rooming" effect

MINNEAPOLIS — It's a common dilemma for retail stores; customers come in to check out the latest merchandise only to then buy it at a competitor's website. According to a new survey from market research fim ClickIQ, nearly half of consumers who have shopped online within the past six months first checked out the product at their local retail store and then made the purchase online, often from a different source.

The survey of 911 ClickIQ consumer panel members revealed that 67% have shopped online as well as in brick-and-mortar stores during the past six months. When this group was asked if they have researched a product at the local retail store and then made the purchase online, 46% indicated that they have done so. Of this group, the leading retailers for in-store research were Walmart at 41% and Target at 25%. But what is telling is that regardless of which retail store the consumer researched on the product they eventually purchased, nearly half (48%) made their final purchase at Amazon. Furthermore, with only 15% stating they later purchased the product at Walmart.com and 4% at Target.com, it is apparent that retail stores are providing a full shopping experience for online-only retailers such as Amazon.

When asked the drivers behind their decision to make the purchase online, the dominate reason was price at 87%. Other factors influencing their decision to purchase online were no shipping/delivery charges and availability, both at 52%, variety of products at 30%, and no sales tax at just over 28%. That last figure could change if legislation requiring Amazon to collect sales tax is passed.