Posted on 11/17/2012 1:23:44 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
This holiday season, 48 million shoppers—about 20% of the U.S. adult population—will use their smartphones to compare prices and research products while shopping in stores, a practice known as “showrooming,” IDC Retail Insights finds in a new survey. This represents a 134% increase from 2011 when 20.5 million shoppers engaged in showrooming. IDC forecasts the number of showrooming shoppers will grow to 59 million next year, 69 million in 2014 and 78 million in 2015. This year, according to the new research, showrooming will influence $700 million to $1.7 billion in holiday retail purchases.
Big-ticket items, in particular those that consumers can easily evaluate by reading descriptions, specifications, ratings and reviews, will be the biggest target of consumers shopping with smartphones, according to the IDC report, “Business Strategy: At Hand Versus In Hand—Will Consumers Have the Upper Hand in the 2012 Holiday Showroom Showdown?” IDC surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults with Internet access.
Between 7% and 13% of consumer electronics shoppers will use their smartphones at least once in stores this season...
(Excerpt) Read more at internetretailer.com ...
‘Christmas’ is not observed in my home any more...man, does it spare us a lot of grief.
I would love it if every time I talked to a prospect I got paid for my time. But in the real world, sales reps are paid on what they close, not how many potential customers they have conversations with. The job of the sales rep is to get the shopper to buy in the store. If they can't do that, they don't get paid; period.
I am not talking about 5 minutes here. I know people who will tie up a sellsperson for up to an hour getting the information they needed to make a purchase then walk off and buy it online from a place that would not provide that service.
I personally make a point to ask a sellsperson if they are commissioned. If they are, and they made the case for the sale on the product, I buy from them even if I could have walked away and got it online cheaper.
I may have spent a little more money, but I can lay my head on my pillow at night knowing I did not take advantage of another person.
Sound like Occupy Wall Street to you? And to answer your question: I am in the computer industry, mainly software development but also hardware development. And you sound like someone who justifies pirating music and software with a lame argument that it only costs a few cents to press the CD anyway.
Your point would have been valid if it were simply being courteous of a sales professional's time and thinking about whether or not you're taking away business from him, but you and the other guy went overboard by calling it "theft of service", or comparing it to software piracy. It's not theft at all.
Is it wrong to go to five car dealerships and test drive their top of line cars when you have no intention of buying? It's certainly not a very nice thing to do, but along with tying "up a sellsperson for up to an hour" with no intention of buying, these are extreme examples. It sounds like you need to get some new friends; I certainly don't know anyone who would do such a thing. But I don't call them thieves or insinuate that "you are stealing from that store as if you pocketed something and walked out." That's insane, and simply incorrect.
I buy from brick and mortar stores on big purchases because the value proposition is better. The online price might be cheaper, but shipping costs usually equal out, and I prefer the convenience, return policy, and warranties at the physical retailers. However, I don't think it gives me any moral or ethical high ground.
To people like you, what really goes on in the sales process might be a lot like seeing sausage made.
I racked up $700 in expenses in one night during a trade show taking a prospect and her assistants to drinks, dinner, and a show. I had clearance to offer her a better price against a competitor who offered a parallel service. I found out later that she was shopping for a better offer simply to take back to my competitor as leverage to get them to lower their cost too. She had no intention of going with my company from the get go. Was she "stealing" from me, or guilty of "theft of service" because I advised her on the different tools and bought them a boatload of hospitality that night? No, of course not. It's all part of the game.
Abortion is legal. Does that make it ethical?
If the brick and mortar stores expend their sales resources with time and energy, and they still fail to convert the sale, it is their fault. The customer is guilty of nothing other than looking out for their own interests. Is it mean and inconsiderate? Perhaps, but retail is a cutthroat business, and it's about numbers, not feelings.
If you can compare where one shops and buys to theft, piracy, and ABORTION(!), then I can't imagine what you'd think about what goes on in the real estate industry.
Nothing personal, but you are the reason that salespeople rarely, if ever, bring developers or engineers on sales calls. It's a disaster waiting to happen because you don't understand how the sales process works and can often torpedo the deal because you don't understand the minds of buyers.
You’d be an idiot not to do this. Of course, you shouldn’t take up sales people’s time if you’re not planning on buying, but using a mobile device to help comparison shop? Absolutely!
If I see something interesting at Sam’s Club, I check it out on Amazon right then and there — reviews and pricing. If the price difference is significant and I want to get it, I’ll go with the cheaper option. if it’s only $1 or $2 difference, I’ll get it locally and have it that day.
I guess you prefer to deal with people with values like your example over people with values like mine. To each is own I guess.
Our sales staff's biggest fear was that we would tell the customer the unvarnshed truth about the server's capabilities, or shortcomings. Engineers are trained to, and tend to be naturally inclined to be critical.
Funny thing is, most of the customers in that segment were techies and got that their were issues and nothing was perfect. If something did come out, they mainly wanted to understand what was being done to address it. They seemed most bothered by not being told, not the defect itself.
So the dance may have been counter productive in that it damaged trust.
Bingo.
That's why I've loved having Sales Engineers in the past. You take the sales guy who has huge technical knowledge, or the technical guy who is good with women, and stick them in the in-between role where you can dial them in or take them to the meeting with you. They get comped on the team's quota and can help out with all of the stuff that is over the sales rep's head.
Those guys are worth their weight in gold.
Nice that yours got comp’d. We were just doing it for the team...
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