Retail trade and its terms are constantly changing.
What is a showroom?
A showroom is the concept of having low or no inventory for purchase in your physical store. It is essentially transforming your store into a showroom.
In terms of shopper behavior, a showroom can be defined as: “when a shopper visits a store to view a product and then purchases the product online… this happens because many people still prefer to see and touch the goods they are buying, but many products are available at lower prices through online sellers. Thus, local retailers essentially become showrooms for online shoppers.”
Showrooming happens whether you like it or not. Instead of fighting it, this article will discuss the ways you can leverage this trend and capitalize on modern shopper behavior.
What is web rooming?
Web rooming is the opposite of showrooming.
According to Dr. Gary Edwards, former CEO of Empathica, “with showrooming, merchants face the challenge that shoppers come to the store to view and test the products, then return home and complete the purchase online (often from a competitor), while web rooming is when consumers search for products online before going to the store for a final evaluation and purchase.”
Web rooming grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of spending time browsing stores, consumers turned to the internet to do most of their product research. They then bypass shipping times and costs by picking up products in-store.
Benefits of showrooms and web rooming
Less need for space: Showrooming eliminates the need to display every product you sell, requiring less space in your store. This can help you save money on rent, interior design, hiring a space planning expert, and other costs.
Enhanced customer relationships and loyalty: The showroom model removes the pressure for immediate sales and allows merchants and sales teams to focus on building long-term relationships with customers. Employees become sales consultants rather than sellers, providing assistance and personalized recommendations. In today’s fiercely competitive retail landscape, this level of customer service builds stronger relationships and customer loyalty.
Elimination of shipping costs: E-commerce customers dislike shipping costs. In fact, nearly 60% of online shoppers say that free shipping would improve their online shopping experience. 40% say that free returns and faster shipping would enhance their experience as well. However, shipping costs cannot always be avoided. In 2022, you will see an increase in shipping costs that will necessarily be passed on to consumers. Web rooming eliminates shipping costs from the equation. Customers receive products immediately.
Advanced selling opportunities: Showrooming and web rooming give you the opportunity to sell additional products and promote related items. When customers visit your store to check prices and look for a specific product, you have the chance to offer them other products that may interest them. Some retailers place QR codes near items that provide data about related products. Similarly, customers who shop online but visit stores to complete their purchases may find other products they like when they start browsing. Point of purchase (POP) displays at checkout and around the sales floor are great ways to boost sales.
More customer data: Customers who visit and engage with your showroom can provide valuable information that helps you better understand your audience. “Brands should think of [showrooming] as opening a new channel for consumers to share their preferences – a strong and valuable signal that should be addressed alongside other consumer information to guide targeting,” says Eric Bosco, Chief Product Officer at Nielsen in a 2013 interview. “Smart brands should respect each consumer’s choice to explore other options. A truly smart brand will go further to learn from the signal and discover the profile of consumers who are showrooming (and what they are looking for), and then target other outlets with its ads.” Certainly, customers may showroom your business to find the best price for your product. You can still gather valuable information from these shoppers to improve your advertising and win their business next time.
Risks
Challenges of Showrooming and Web Rooming
Unless you adapt and embrace modern shopping behaviors, your store will fall behind. Here are some suggestions on how to mitigate these risks.
Loss of sales to competitors: Customers are showrooming in an attempt to discover the best price for a product – perhaps elsewhere. As a result, you may lose sales to competitors, such as discount retailers or even second-hand shops. In the eyes of customers, this is just smart shopping. For retailers, however, it’s hard not to feel defeated. Instead of letting showrooming bring you down, understand where your store is vulnerable to it. Customers might crave unique experiences and relationships just as much as discounts.
Misleading reports or inventory numbers: Multichannel trading can make reporting and inventory management challenging. Customers shopping online and buying in-store (web rooming) or shopping in-store and purchasing online (showrooming) need access to accurate inventory numbers. You might consider using a point of sale system that seamlessly connects with your store’s online backend. For instance, the Shopify point of sale system connects to your Shopify store and allows you to manage all your sales channels from Shopify’s management. Streamlining your sales channels helps support customers who are showrooming and web rooming in several ways. For example, inventory levels are updated when products are sold, returned, or exchanged either online or in-store, so both customers and store staff know exactly how much stock you have at all times. More importantly, sales reports accurately attribute revenue to the correct sales channels, providing you with a complete picture of how (and where) your customers prefer to discover and purchase products.
Trends in Showrooming
While many shoppers are checking the prices of your products, they are also doing things such as searching for additional product information. Shoppers are doing more research for high-value items, like consumer electronics, mobile products, and furniture. Shoppers are also more likely to buy durable and non-perishable products online (like books, electronics, and clothing) and purchase consumables in-person (like groceries and pharmaceuticals). Because of this, some retail categories are less susceptible to showrooming or web rooming than others. Seamless shopping experiences: When done right, showrooms can provide a better shopping experience than a standard store visit. A study by Forrester Consulting commissioned by Shopify found that brands are investing in improving the in-store shopping experience over the next 12 months, with the most common response (46%) being showrooming. Showrooming allows customers to come in and experience the brand and product while also enabling them to easily complete purchases online – often, it’s the preferred method. Even better, the showroom customer experience eliminates the need to transport purchases home. Instead, they will be delivered directly. Turning stores into content production studios: Showrooming expands the possibilities of what you can do with your retail space. If you’re not concerned about filling every aisle and display case, you can transform your store into a unique experience for customers, such as content production studios. Beautifully designed showrooms (like Forage Plant) can often serve as content production studios and spaces for creators and social media influencers to take photos and create content for their businesses. This not only gives creators a space to capture content but also provides high-quality user-generated content and images to promote your business.
How to
Exploiting the Showroom and Room on the Web
Moving to Multichannel: Offering a consistent customer experience across multiple channels encourages shoppers to engage with your brand online and through other channels. While customers love searching online, nearly half prefer to purchase in-store. Additionally, merchants with two sales channels generate more revenue than those with only one channel. If you haven’t already, consider multichannel retailing. Whether you expand to sell through an e-commerce site or social media and/or pop-up display sites or showrooms, build a multichannel strategy that works for your unique brand.
Engaging with Customers through Service and Personalized Experiences: Human interaction remains a crucial reason why consumers prefer to buy products in-store rather than online. Although the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way we shop, some consumers still prefer in-store shopping and are more likely to buy when assisted by an informed staff member. Great service can go a long way in attracting and retaining customers. A Kissmetrics blog titled “The Fastest Way to Lose Customers” found that “71% of consumers have ended their relationship with a company due to poor customer service,” and that once those customers are lost, it costs an average of $243 to replace each customer. Merchants can leverage this data by enhancing and improving the interaction between sales staff and customers. Ensure that retail staff are well-trained on your products and best customer service practices. Additionally, make the return or exchange process easier (especially in-store).
Soliciting Shopper Feedback: Shoppers are already on their mobile phones when in-store, so why not take advantage of that? Ask them to like your Facebook page, snap a picture with your products and use your hashtag on Instagram, or share their purchases on Twitter. Incentivize that with contests, giveaways, coupons, and other creative promotional campaigns. You can also encourage customers to review their shopping experience and your products. Studies show that 93% of customers read online reviews before purchasing a product, and customers are willing to spend 31% more on a company with excellent reviews. This only reinforces the importance of broadcasting your customers’ opinions.
Turning Your Store into a Physical Showroom: More brands are embracing the showroom trend literally – they open product showrooms instead of traditional stores. Retailers around the world (like the examples below) are opening showrooms to allow customers to touch and view their products and then ship their purchases directly to their homes. No more carrying heavy shopping bags or worrying about in-store stock levels.
Offering In-Store Discounts: Shopping online has historically been cheaper than shopping in-store – which is why the showroom has become a trend in the first place. Instead of resisting the trend, merchants should take advantage of the showroom and capitalize on foot traffic by offering in-store discounts or product bundling benefits.
Providing the Option to Buy Online and Pick Up In-Store: The buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) trend rose during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains a popular shopping trend. BOPIS allows customers to avoid shipping costs and waiting times without having to browse shelves or find out-of-stock items. Furthermore, bringing customers into the store can stimulate additional purchases once they see the aisles and in-store point-of-sale displays.
Examples
On Retailers Using Showrooms
Allbirds: The shoe company Allbirds, which relies on Shopify, started in 2016 through Kickstarter. In 2017, Allbirds began opening pop-up stores in San Francisco. Since then, Allbirds has expanded to 23 locations in the United States and 12 global stores – all functioning as showrooms. From the beginning, the Allbirds team wanted their physical stores to be a brand experience, not just a shopping destination. By using Shopify POS, Allbirds removed the need for a fixed register, allowing them to better utilize small retail spaces and provide a more interactive experience for customers. This technology also enabled Allbirds to offer in-store purchase and shipping to customers – often referred to as the “infinite aisle.” When customers come in looking for unusual or unavailable products, Allbirds staff can process transactions, accept payments, and ship the item directly to the shopper.
Bonobos: Bonobos started as an online-only retailer of men’s clothing. However, in 2012, Bonobos began opening “Guideshops” (its version of showrooms), understanding that some shoppers desired a personalized shopping experience. “We reinvented the retail store,” says the Bonobos website. “It’s entirely personal, and we call it a Guideshop.” At any of the more than 60 Bonobos Guideshops, customers can walk in or book an appointment to shop, have their purchases sent directly to their homes, and make free returns or exchanges – even for online purchases. On-site experts educate shoppers about Bonobos’ product range and assist them in finding the perfect size. Bonobos is a great example of a brand that listens to its customers and adapts to better serve them through multiple channels, enhancing customer loyalty.
Clearly: Clearly was founded as a Canadian eyewear and lens company in 2000 as a cheaper alternative to traditional optical retail stores. Since then, the brand has opened four showroom locations in British Columbia, Toronto, and Calgary. Why? Because buying eyewear can be a physical process. Clearly’s local showrooms allow customers to meet with optometrists, undergo eye exams, try on lenses, and experience eyewear. Any purchases are shipped directly to customers’ homes, and the showrooms offer discounts and special services like repairs, product replacements, and free eyeglass cleaning. Providing services through both online and retail access allows them to reach different customers.
Glossier: Glossier conducts most of its beauty business online and occasionally through temporary stores. However, the brand has permanent locations in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles, and soon in London, which function as showrooms. Here, visitors can experience Glossier’s makeup and skincare products, speak with consultants and experts, purchase items in person, and engage with the Glossier brand personally. Best of all, Glossier designs each showroom based on its location: for instance, the Glossier store in Los Angeles offers shoppers a desert vibe. Glossier is a great example of a brand that listens to its customers and adapts to serve them across multiple channels, enhancing customer loyalty.
Showrooms and the Room on the Web: Adopting Evolving Shopping Habits
As consumers and technology continue to evolve, businesses must keep pace with this change to remain competitive and profitable. Utilize these tips and trends in the showroom and the room on the web to build better customer relationships and increase the bottom line. As these trends continue to evolve, you can leverage them to engage with customers through new sales channels. Sell how customers buy. The Shopify POS system unites sales both online and in-store, making the checkout process seamless. Get all the tools you need to sell your products wherever your customers are, without worrying about company technology, integrations, or scattered sales reporting.
Questions
Webrooming
What does webrooming mean? When a customer researches a product online before making a purchase in a physical store, it is called webrooming.
What is the difference between webrooming and showrooming? Webrooming is the opposite of showrooming. It involves researching products online before making a purchase in a physical store, while showrooming involves researching products in a physical store before buying them online.
What is an example of showrooming? For example, a customer enters a store to check a product and then buys it online at a lower price.
What is the opposite of showrooming? The opposite of showrooming is brand loyalty, where customers are more likely to purchase items from a store because they trust and are loyal to the brand.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/retail/showrooming-webrooming
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