This year, far fewer consumers are using their smartphone in-store to find a better deal and make their purchase online. Called showrooming, this behavior was done by almost 40% of gadget owners last year, but only 28% this year.
More shoppers now start the purchase process on their phone, and ultimately buy in a brick and mortar store. "Webrooming," as it is labeled, is done by 41% of consumers, and is particularly popular among 25-49 year olds. In fact, all generations except 18-24 year olds are more likely to webroom than showroom.
Marketers used to believe that consumers would only spend time doing online research before real world purchases of high priced items. However, recent dramatic increases in purchases of food, beverages, OTC medications, and beauty products that involved both digital and physical channels has seriously challenged that thinking.
IBM predicts that over the Thanksgiving weekend, more than 50% of all shopping searches will be done on mobile devices, but only 24% of purchases will be completed on them. That means holiday season 2014 is likely to have plenty of webrooming.
What are the implications for your business?
- Do you have a great omnichannel strategy that makes it easy for consumers to buy your products no matter where they start their shopping process?
- Is everything you do optimized for mobile?
For help developing powerful digital strategies that work, compelling marketing strategies that drive results, strategic plans that deliver growth, or new products that consumers love, contact Brandology at 925-417-2253 or Maura@Brandology.com.
Sources: GfK 2014, IBM 2014
