Pet Retailer Alert - Showrooming Trend Not Just Best Buy

A TechCrunch article developed with data from Placed.com, indicates the trend toward visiting brick and mortar stores to gain knowledge of a product which is ultimately purchased online (commonly called 'showrooming') is not just affecting electronic stores like Best Buy. The report shows stores selling pet supplies, home products and toys like PetSmart, Walmart, Home Depot and many others are also at risk because of this new trend.

'In store price matching by brick and mortar stores to protect from being undersold by online retailers may be a useful strategy'

The article highlights data from Placed.com, a new application which uses 'location analytic'  data from smart devices to place consumers 'in the aisle' of major retailer stores while comparing these visits to online purchasing trends. This relatively new expansion in 'shopping' data, illuminates the 'showrooming' trend and mentions strategies retailers are using to manage it.

'Equipping the in-store team with price comparison software so they are aware of the real-time competitive environment may also be a useful strategy'

The trend toward price comparison software like Amazon’s Price Check, eBay's ShopSavvy and RedLaser barcode-scanner as well as buyVia, PriceGrabber, Decide and Google Shopper are also mentioned in the article. However, the authors note that Placed.com will need agreements to share data from these applications to make analysis useful. Bricks and mortar retailers may find the information in this article of assistance to develop service and pricing strategies which convert the 'showrooming' visitor to a found sale. 

'Converting a visitor to a customer is the job whether online or offline'

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