‘Showrooming’ helps buyers, hurts retailers

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By Clark Howard, Contributing writer Updated 8:01 AM Monday, January 9, 2012

A new trend called “showrooming” can hurt brick-and-mortar retailers in an age when smartphones and other mobile devices allow anyone to comparison shop prices for anything anywhere at any time.

A recent Codex Group survey found that roughly four in 10 book buyers will go to a store and thumb through a book, decide they like it and then buy it cheaper on Amazon, according to what I read in The New York Times. But that trend has dangerous consequences for retailers of all kinds.

I have an app on my smartphone called ShopSavvy that allows me to scan a bar code at a store and instantly get a list of retailers both online and local offering the same item for a cheaper price. If you want to check it out, go to Market.Android.com and search keyword “shopsavvy.”

Recently on “Clark Stinks” — the message board on ClarkHoward.com where people can post their gripes about my advice — I heard from a poster who owned her own retail store.

Boy, was she sore with me for being a freeloader.

And you know what? She’s right. She has the cost of overhead and paying employees and can’t compete with a low-overhead retailer.

It’s a very valid point. Will there be showrooms in the future, or will they go bust because everybody is showrooming?

For example, Best Buy was expected to be king of the world when Circuit City collapsed. But it didn’t work out that way at all. In fact, Best Buy has had to morph its business to avoid dying a showroomer’s death.

If you own your business, people are showrooming. You need a compelling strategy for your business that when those customers come in, they will buy from you even if your price is higher than the low-overhead online seller.

Clark Howard is a nationally syndicated consumer advocate, radio personality and author who gives advice on how to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. Listen to Clark Howard weeknights from 6 to 9 p.m. on AM1290/95.7FM News-Talk WHIO.

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