Online sales are rising at a brisk pace, but brick-and-mortar retailers' efforts to keep even the most Web-savvy shoppers in stores is having some early success, according to a
Pew Internet and American Life Project report released Thursday.
The report focused on shoppers who use their cellphones in stores to check prices, look at reviews and consult others about their purchases. Retailers have been fighting to keep those consumers from browsing the aisles and then buying discounted products online later, known as "showrooming."
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Do The Deals Ever End?
January 23, 2013
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The power of the Internet’s always-on connectivity has reduced product prices, shuttered brick-and-mortar retailers and decimated MSRPs. Barcode reader apps, like Red Laser, offer instant access to the lowest price and special deals from a multitude of competitors. Consumers have opted into thousands of brand-exclusive networks and social groups for instant discounts.
If that’s not enough to strike a sense of hopelessness into the hearts of CE retailers, all types of specialdeals are pushed around the clock to mobile devices and then spread with viral intensity to social networks and other empires populated with millions of “friends.” On top of that, Showrooming pushes the lowest price to consumers at the last three feet of the sale, forcing retailers to try and match whatever deal the cloud offers at that particular moment. Shackled with hefty SG&As, retailers must find new ways to compete, increase margin, elevate customer satisfaction and draw traffic.
