As many consumers still choose to browse in-stores and then purchase online, physical shops are feeling the heat from online retailers. But are offline businesses right to dread the infamous "showrooming effect"? Not so much. It seems that a reverse trend is gathering strength. A glimmer of hope for in-store retail, webrooming is currently shifting the opportunity back to the brick-and-mortar stores. 

Quick recap: showrooming describes consumers who price shop online after visiting physical stores, while webrooming refers to the process of researching products online and then visiting a store to make a purchase. It appears that the latter is getting more and more popular with consumers. According to Merchant Warehouse’s study, as much as 69 percent of smartphone owners in the age category of 18-36 have webroomed, as compared to just 50 percent of those who opted for showrooming. It gets better with age: among 37-48 year olds, 71 percent have webroomed versus 53 percent who have showroomed.

How to capitalize on webrooming

Merchant Warehouse report provides more heart-warming data for brick-and-mortar retailers. It also indicates these aspects of shopping experience that physical store owners can use to their advantage. It appears that there are three primary reasons for webrooming, as quoted by the survey's respondents. Essentially, consumers look online for an item before purchasing it in-store because they do not want to pay for shipping (47 percent), want to check the item's availability online before they buy it in-store (42 percent) or "do not want to wait for the product to be delivered (23 percent). How can retailers translate it into business opportunities? First of all, they can offer coupons and savings for the customers who visit your website and purchase in-store. For those who do not run their own e-commerce website, a business' website including product descriptions and availability could be a good replacement. Store owners should also be pro-active, alerting their customers about last-chance items and restocking inventory. Another option is to offer online ordering with in-store pickup. And last but not least, physical business owners ought to always make sure that in-store inventory matches what is placed online.

Try, touch and feel the difference

Good news for brick-and-mortar shops: nearly half of respondents admit that they like to go to a store to touch and feel a product prior to the purchase. For the majority of product categories, experiencing a product in-store has its own benefits. While the experience piece is true of apparel retail categories, the confidence of buying the right products is of key importance in a grocery retail scenario. Direct online sales are expected to account for 10-11 percent of the total sales in retail. However, this number goes up to 15 percent, if grocery is excluded. What does it prove? While such categories as books or electronics sell better online, for others brick and mortar stores are still a preferred channel of choice. How can retailers use this to their own advantage? A unique benefit of shopping in-store, tactile qualities should be perceived a key selling point and help close the sale. Physical store owners should also encourage testing the product in-store, encouraging the consumers to touch, smell or taste the goods. It is important to be aware of the entire product experience, i.e. of what customers are hearing, smelling and seeing in the store (see: SMELL OF MONEY: BOOSTING SALES THROUGH CUSTOMERS' SENSES)

Sources: http://www.adweek.com; http://web.utsandiego.com; http://blog.capillarytech.com, Photo: wikimedia.org