Introduction Retail has undergone immense change in recent years, driven largelyby online and mobile technology. The growth of online and, morerecently, mobile shopping has helped to improve the shoppingexperience for many consumers, making way for more convenient andeasier purchasing. The internet is quickly becoming the place where the majority of shoppers arenow choosing to part with their money. Ecommerce has been steadily increasingits share of all retail trade sales in the UK – in 2014, the share was 13.5%, but thisincreased to 15.2% in 2015, and 16.8% in 2016. It is expected to rise even further to17.8% in 2017*. But, what about when it comes to making those expensive, considered purchases,such as a new car, kitchen or bathroom Do consumers prefer to buy theseproducts online nowadays, or are they still inclined to visit high street stores tomake an informed decision Well, online and physical shopping are becoming less mutually exclusive – savvyconsumers are now combining the two to help make the right purchasing choice.This has given rise to a new shopping phenomenon: Webrooming vs Showrooming. Currently, the majority of consumers still feel as though physical shops areimportant - 81% of UK consumers believe brick and mortar shops are vital to theshopping experience and 70% enjoy the full experience of going in-store to browse,especially when making larger, more expensive purchases in-store. When it comesto fashion, 62% of consumers still prefer to try on clothes in-store, rather than buythem online, so they can get a real feel for how they will look and ft.However, 30% of shoppers are now “showroomers” and use brick and mortar storesto try goods out before they buy online. 55% would browse in store then shoponline for entertainment purchases in the hope of fnding a better deal, as would52% when it comes to buying electronics. * statista/statistics/281241/online-share-of-retail-trade-in-european-countries/ showrooming noun informal noun: showrooming noun: show-rooming When customers visit a shop to checkout a product, but then actuallycomplete the purchase online,sometimes at a lower price. Essentially,the store acts as a product showroomfor online shoppers. webrooming noun informal noun: webrooming noun: web-rooming When shoppers research items onlineso they can check out and compare lotsof options, but then head to a physicalstore to complete their purchase.Often, consumers will use this methodwhen they want to see exactly what theproduct looks like in real life before theymake the fnal purchase. Page 2 PushON eCommerce. Delivered. With shoppers preferring both methods of purchasing, retailers need to beoptimising their in-store and online services to ofer a truly omnichannelexperience. What if high street shops stopped worrying about losing out to web- based competitors and actually started to embrace online shopping Recognising the importance of online shopping is going to become even morevital for retailers over the next 12 months when technology, such as augmentedreality (AR) which overlays virtual images over what you are seeing in real life, gainsmore mainstream traction. With the help of Apple’s ARKit, a new platform thatenables developers to easily create AR apps, furniture retailer IKEA has already beenexperimenting with AR to help shoppers imagine what items of furniture may looklike in their home before they buy them.The revolution of retail shows no signs of slowing down, again thanks to theemergence of new technology. But should retailers be investing heavily in theironline channels, or will brick and mortar stores still play a pivotal role in the fnalsale By Simon Wharton, business strategy directorPage 3About the report Understanding how customers want to engage with a brandis a constant battle for retailers – do they want quick andconvenient shopping Or do they prefer to take their time andfor the experience to be more personal Do they shop in- store or online But, the growth of webrooming and showrooming has only added to thepressure when ofering the exact experience each individual consumer islooking for. The main issue is the gap in the customer journey as it’s hardfor retailers to pinpoint how decisions were made and at which touchingpoints – the journey from research to purchase isn’t as seamless as it isonce was when just one platform was used (online or in-store).This is where retailers need to be able to understand their customers’needs and use this to perfect their omnichannel ofering.To show retailers where the most considered sales are made, this reportwill investigate the trends between webrooming and showrooming. We’lllook at consumers’ shopping habits when it comes to making expensivepurchases like cars and large household appliances – do consumersprefer to buy these items online or in-storeAfter analysing the customer journey, the report will then ofer adviceto retailers on the techniques they need to adopt to provide a betterretail experience. We will also explore how new technology, such as AR,is transforming the shopping journey even further, helping to close the‘imagination gap’ and enable consumers to visualise how products willlook in real life. By reading the report, we hope retailers will gain a better understandingof the webrooming and showrooming trend and shopper expectations,so they can use the insight to adapt their services to better meet theneeds of their consumers. Page 4 。。。。。。