Although consumers who research and gather information in a retail store and then purchase online cite price (86.8%) as their most common reason for “showrooming”, other factors are also driving this behavior, according to results from a ClickIQ survey released in February 2012. In fact, a majority of showroomers also said that they had purchased an item online that they had researched in-store because it had no shipping/delivery cost (51.7%) and due to its availability (51.5%). Other reasons given included the variety of products found online (30.2%) and the absence of sales tax (28.3%).
Overall, 45.9% of the consumers surveyed, who were required to have shopped both retail stores and online within the past 6 months, said they had researched or gathered information about a product in a retail store (not online) first and then purchased the product online.
Price and Features Top Info Gathered In-Store
Price was, predictably, the top information about a product gathered in-store by showroomers, cited by 86.9%. Roughly 7 in 10 also researched information about a product’s features, while 51.2% looked at product availability and 44.7% at the variety of products on offer. And although more than half cited delivery costs as a reason for buying online instead, only about one-quarter of respondents said they gathered information about shipping and delivery costs while in-store.
According to an Oracle study released in December 2011, the leading reason US and Canadian consumers visit a store is to see a product before they buy it (75%). 44% said they visit a store when they need the product right away, while 41% said they will go to a store to avoid shipping charges.
Walmart Leading Source for Info Research
Data from the ClickIQ study indicates that 41.3% of showroomers visited a Walmart store to get information about the item they ended up purchasing online. Other stores often frequented by showroomers included Target (25%), a department store, such as Macy’s or Bloomingdales (22.6%), and a club store, such as Sam’s Club or Costco (12.1%).
Amazon was the top online destination for showroomers: 48.3% reported having made their final purchase there, far ahead of other retailers with a brick-and-mortar footprint, Walmart.com (14.8%) and Target.com (4.1%).
About the Data: The ClickIQ results are based on an online survey of 911 of ClickIQ’s US consumer panel from February 10 through February 13, 2012. Two-thirds of the respondents were female, and the average age was 49.2.
