The FINANCIAL — Showrooming and webrooming – two sides of a single retail coin. Showrooming (examining a product up close at a brick and mortar store before going on to purchase it online) was a relatively new holiday trend to watch in 2012, while webrooming (wherein consumers do their research online and then head to the store to make a purchase) was one to watch in 2013. Both trends are still going strong, and each is looking to bring home some sales this holiday shopping season, according to new data from The Harris Poll.
As of this year’s holiday shopping season, roughly half of Americans have showroomed (49%), up marginally from last year (46%) and more noticeably from 2012 (43%). Webrooming, meanwhile, stands strong with roughly seven in ten Americans (69%) saying they’ve taken this approach (on par with 2013 findings). When asked to think specifically of their 2014 holiday shopping intentions, half of U.S. adults (51%) plan on using (or have already used) at least one of these tactics (45% webrooming, 30% showrooming).
Showrooming might have been the first one on the media’s radar, but webrooming is currently holding an edge not just in the percentage of U.S. adults who have given it a try, but also in how much they spent the last time they did so. On average, showroomers report having spent $156.40 the last time they purchased a product online after looking at it in a brick and mortar store – continuing a steady decline from the $211.80 they reported in 2012 ($174.00 was the average spend reported in November 2013). Webroomers, meanwhile, report a mean bill of $200.70 the last time they made an in-store purchase after researching it online – not far off of the $203.90 reported last year), according to Harris Interactive Inc.
Market matters
Looking across America’s 10 most populous markets, those in Washington, D.C. (54%); Atlanta, GA (53%); and Philadelphia, PA (52%) are the most likely to have ever showroomed. Those in Los Angeles, CA (43%) and Chicago, IL (44%) are the least likely to have done so.
As for webrooming, San Francisco, CA (81%) seems to be the top market for consumers having ever done so, followed by Philadelphia (78%). On the other end of the spectrum, perhaps it’s the city’s notorious traffic keeping Los Angelinos (59%) less engaged in the webrooming trend than their counterparts in other markets, though it’s certainly worth noting that six in ten have done so.
Turning to holiday shopping plans for 2014, those in the D.C. market (44%) are the most likely to have their sights set on showrooming this holiday season (or to have done so already), followed by those in Boston (40%) and Dallas/Fort Worth (40%). Los Angelinos (22%) are least likely to have done so or have plans to do so.
Philadelphians (55%), San Franciscans (53%) and residents of the Dallas/Fort Worth market (53%) are the most likely to indicate they plan on webrooming (or have already done so). Similar to past behavior, Los Angelinos (37%) are least likely to indicate that they’re planning to or already have webroomed.
Where do buy what?
When presented with a list of purchase possibilities, consumer preferences vary widely as to where they prefer to buy each.
In-person trips to “big box” stores are the top choice by a wide margin when it comes to buying both large (49%) and small (47%) household appliances, along with pet supplies (27%), according to Harris Interactive Inc. “Big box” stores are also the top selection – albeit by a narrower margin – for purchasing computers and personal electronics (35% each, followed in both cases by online at 29% each) and toys (25%, followed by online at 20%). Retail chains are the top choice for clothing (32%, followed by “big box” stores at 29%), shoes (32%, with “big box” stores coming in second at 27%) and smartphones/cell phones (31%, followed by “big box” stores and online retailers at 21% each). Local, individual stores or small chains (34%) narrowly edge out “big box” stores (32%) for groceries, followed by retail chains (27%).
Online is the top selection by a wide margin when it comes to purchasing books (43%), beating all other purchase channels by more than a 3:1 margin, according to Harris Interactive Inc.
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