Showroom shopping is the activity encouraged by Amazon last holiday season that brought down a lot of criticism. A showroom shopper goes into a brick and mortar store and investigates a product. The shopper then does more comparison online and makes the purchase online. Recently the discussion has been about the large vendors—namely Amazon—to poach customers from other vendors even though the other vendors front the educational cost for the shopper’s decision.
A new study shows that showroom shoppers are quite willing to purchase from the showroom’s online presence instead of a competitor. Most of these decisions are motivated by price, but the data shows that customers may be willing to take a small hit in price to make the purchase from the brick and mortar’s online site, even if it is just a desire to remain consistent among vendors.
This data gives the social media agency a way to convince clients, or potential clients, for further investment in online options. For a shopper to make the purchase there needs to be an online presence. These shoppers are also sensitive to other mechanisms, such as coupons and apps and exclusive discounts for online purchases. Price is an important determinate, but what shoppers seem to ultimately be looking for is information. The social media agency needs to help clients provide as much information as possible to boost sales and prevent poaching from larger vendors.