New online behaviour uncovered

 

Buy online conceptFirst came showrooming and then webrooming, however, a UK-based e-commerce claims to have found a new new trend in online consumer behaviour – Boomerooming.

RedSnapper defines boomerooming as the process of researching products online, visiting a physical store to see/feel/touch/try a product in the flesh and find the best deals online before making the final purchase.

Showrooming has been a cause for concern for bricks and mortar retailers for several years, however, on the flip side, a study by Merchant Warehouse earlier this year found that 69 per cent of smartphone users have webroomed, that is, researched online and purchased instore, compared to only 50 per cent who have showroomed.

RedSnapper took Merchant Warehouse’s research one step further to identify whether consumers were actually using a combination of webrooming and showrooming in a practice it has dubbed ‘Boomerooming’.

The research found that 62 per cent of UK consumers had in fact boomeroomed, which debunks the idea that the physical store experience and convenience prevails over a bargain priced product.

The research showed  consumers’ main gripes with shopping online for the overwhelming majority are not being able to see, touch or try a product in the flesh, however, through the process of boomerooming, consumers can research products online, see them in the flesh instore, and then buy online for the lowest price possible.

According to RedSnapper, the need to monitor this omni-channel commerce is greater than ever, and marketers across the globe are working towards integrating online and offline analytics data. This will provide a better understanding of consumer behaviour and will assessment of the impact of marketing efforts, both online and offline.

“Our research has revealed that consumer trends are more complicated than many experts would have us believe,” says RedSnapper.

“To simply say that more customers are willing to pay increased  prices on the high street for the sake of convenience does not seem to be true. More consumers are researching products online in the first instance and making the journey to the physical store to see it, touch it and try it for real. Once they’re happy, it’s back online to seal the deal.”

The research can be found in its entirety here.

 

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