Best Buy and Target at High Risk for Showrooming, But Other Retailers Face an Even Greater Threat

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SEATTLE, WA, February 27, 2013 - In the largest showrooming study to date, Placed identified Best Buy and Target as high-risk retailers for Amazon customers to view offline and buy online. Surprisingly, Best Buy and Target were not the most at risk for showroomers taking over their aisles. The results from the Placed: Aisle to Amazon Study found that consumers who showroom and then purchase on Amazon are 20% more likely to visit Best Buy and 15% more likely to visit Target than average, but Bed Bath & Beyond, PetSmart and Toys ‘R’ Us all face greater risk.

"Amazon was the clear winner in e-commerce 1.0, and unless brick-and-mortar retailers shift from reactive to proactive, Amazon will win e-commerce 2.0 on the backs of offline retailers," said David Shim, Founder and CEO at Placed. "All the attention to date has been on Target and Best Buy as the early victims of showrooming, but significantly more retailers are at risk. Retailers need to know that it’s not a question of if or when showrooming will impact their business, as an aisle to Amazon is already in their store."

The Placed: Aisle to Amazon Study is based on 14,925 U.S. survey respondents combined with the direct measurement of nearly 1 billion U.S. location data points during January 2013. By directly measuring consumers’ paths in the physical world, Placed provides an unprecedented look at the impact of the digital world on brick-and-mortar shopping behaviors.

To download the full report, please visit: http://www.placed.com/resources/white-papers/aisle-to-amazon

Both Best Buy and Target have recently announced Amazon price matching policies to combat showrooming. The results from the study confirmed both retailers face some of the strongest threats of showrooming from Amazon customers in their aisles. Showroomers were 20% more likely to visit Best Buy and 15% more likely to visit Target than an average consumer. Walmart, which currently does not price match Amazon.com, was the relative "safest" of the three retailers with showroomers 10% and 15% less likely to visit Walmart when compared to Target and Best Buy.

While Best Buy and Target are closely aligned with showrooming in the press, other retailers face a stronger threat of showrooming. Bed Bath & Beyond ranked as the most at-risk retailer with showroomers 27% more likely to visit the home goods retailer. The top 5 at-risk retailers were rounded out by PetSmart (25%), Toy ‘R’ Us (21%), Best Buy (20%) and Sears (19%).

The study further segmented showroomers by identifying users of Amazon’s Price Check app, which allows shoppers to instantly compare prices and purchase on Amazon while in a brick-and-mortar store. Key findings include:

• Amazon Price Check app users were 53% more likely to visit T.J. Maxx than the average consumer, highlighting the value-conscious nature of Price Check users.
• These same users were 49% more likely to visit Costco, indexing the highest among the national warehouse clubs.
• Office Depot, which recently announced its merger with OfficeMax, saw Amazon Price Check app users 33% more likely to visit its stores.
• Electronics-related retailers saw a strong propensity for Price Check usage among its visitors with these consumers 31% more likely to visit AT&T Wireless locations, followed by Best Buy (28%) RadioShack (22%) and GameStop (19%).
• Among major big-box retailers, Price Check app users were 21% more likely to visit Target, and 4% less likely to visit Walmart than average (index of 96). Kmart felt the lowest threat from this behavior with Price Check users nearly 25% less likely to visit Kmart locations than average.

Placed: Aisle to Amazon Study highlights Placed’s ability to connect the digital and physical worlds through mobile devices. These insights help answer the question of where do Amazon customers shop in the physical world regardless of showrooming habits. At the top of the list, Amazon saw 25.2% of its customers visit a Walmart store in January, followed by Target (10.7%), Walgreens (7.7%), CVS (6.6%), and Best Buy (4.8%).

The Placed: Aisle to Amazon Study provides an unprecedented look at the impact of the digital world on brick-and-mortar shopping behaviors including analysis on showrooming, demographic trends, purchasing profile, and the impact of Amazon Prime membership. To download the full study, please visit: http://www.placed.com/resources/white-papers/aisle-to-amazon

Placed provides clients the most complete understanding of what consumers do in the physical world – and turns that information into actionable insights. Founded in January 2011, Placed is headquartered in Seattle and is backed by Madrona Venture Group. For more information about Placed and its location analytics solutions, please visit: http://www.placed.com/

Media Contact:
Sarah Radwanick
Senior Marketing Manager
Placed, Inc.
press@placed.com
(206) 588-6127