Study: Showroomers more likely to buy in store

Boston – Despite conventional industry wisdom, shoppers who use mobile devices for showrooming are almost twice as likely to purchase from the retailer in-store or online (38%) than buy elsewhere (21.6%). A new study from e-commerce technology provider SeeWhy, “Showrooming Realities: When Worlds Collide,” also shows that one third (33%) of more 60,000 consumers surveyed who owned a mobile device had used a device as part of their shopping process, and 12% do it routinely.



When asked about the actions shoppers took when using a mobile device in-store as part of their shopping process, the most common behaviours were looking for cheaper prices elsewhere (35%) and reading reviews of the product (34%), followed by checking prices online for the same retailer (27%) and looking for promo codes (27%). Sixteen percent have checked the stock for an item while in stores.



Other results include:

• Less than 5% of the total survey pool feel showrooming is unfair to the retailer, and a mere 3% feel “guilty” when showrooming inside a store.

• The most likely showroomers are young, urban, affluent men. Thirty six percent of this segment has showroomed, and they are twice as likely to use their devices routinely as part of the shopping process.

• Urban populations (32%) are most likely to showroom, followed by those living in suburban areas who showroom (25%).