No-No’s at the Store Level: What Not to Do When Faced with Showrooming

Abstract

Faced with the devastating financial consequences of showrooming, many retailers have developed approaches to combat this increasingly common consumer practice. But what happens when retailers push back against showrooming in the wrong ways? Some stores are actively pursuing policies to restrict showrooming. The direct implication of combative approaches is that instead of evolving and growing with customers and adapting to modern retailing realities, stores that restrict showrooming behaviors are likely to see negative consequences as they try to hold customers back. A restriction of customers’ in-store research activity constrains their interactions with the store’s products, which can be perceived negatively by customers, who may then see the store as the “enemy.” We’ve seen a wide range of restrictive policies emerge. These have included charging customers to browse or “firing” customers who take advantage of the retailer or of the salespeople. Not all approaches are actively aggressive. Passive or behind-the-scenes examples that retailers have adopted to combat showrooming activities include blocking in-store Wi-Fi and removing bar codes from packaging.