Your customer researches your product online, reads three reviews, then walks into your store to look at it in person, and buys it from Amazon while standing in your aisle. That's showrooming. Now flip it: they spend an hour comparing options online, then come into your store to make the final decision. That's webrooming. Both happen in your stores every day. Understanding the difference is how you stop losing the first type and start closing the second.

Key takeaways:

• Showrooming is when a customer visits a physical store to evaluate a product, then buys it online, often from a different retailer
• Webrooming is when a customer researches online first, then comes into a store to make the final purchase
• Neither behavior is inherently bad for retailers; both can be won with the right in-store and digital experience
• The goal is not to force customers into one path but to serve them effectively on whichever path they choose

What is showrooming?

Showrooming is when a customer visits a physical store to see, touch, or try a product in person, then completes the purchase online, sometimes from a competitor.

The behavior accelerated with the rise of smartphones. A customer can stand in front of a product on a shelf and compare prices on Amazon in the same moment. For brick-and-mortar retailers, this created real pressure in the early years of e-commerce.

What is webrooming?

Webrooming is the reverse of showrooming. A customer researches a product online (reading reviews, comparing options, checking specifications) and then goes into a physical store to complete the purchase.

The term reflects how e-commerce changed pre-purchase behavior before it changed transaction behavior. Before online shopping became the default, customers used print catalogs and word-of-mouth the same way. Webrooming is the digital version of that same research-first instinct.

What is the difference between showrooming and webrooming?

Both behaviors reflect customers exercising control over their purchase journey. The key distinction is where the transaction happens and where the evaluation happens.

Is showrooming bad for retailers?

Showrooming is damaging only when retailers fail to convert it into a sale. The original concern was that customers were using store staff and floor space to make a decision, then giving the revenue to Amazon or another online competitor.

That framing has shifted with the growth of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Retailers that run their own e-commerce operations can recapture showrooming customers if they offer an easy online checkout experience and give customers a reason to buy from the brand rather than a marketplace. Some brands have embraced showrooming entirely, operating stores with minimal inventory where customers order at the store and have items shipped to their homes. Bonobos pioneered this format and demonstrated its viability as a permanent retail model.

How does webrooming affect the in-store associate?

Webrooming created a risk that many retailers underestimated. When customers arrive in store having already researched extensively online, some retailers concluded they needed fewer or less-skilled associates, reasoning that the customer had already made up their mind and the store just needed to facilitate the transaction.

This logic misses how webrooming actually works. A customer who has done extensive research is often harder to convert, not easier. They have read reviews, compared competitors, and may be looking for reassurance on the final decision. An informed, confident associate who can address remaining doubts and offer relevant context closes that sale. A passive associate who points at the shelf does not.

What should retailers do about showrooming and webrooming?

The answer is not to pick one behavior to optimize for. Your customers are doing both, and the split varies by product category, price point, and individual shopper. Omnichannel shoppers spend more and return more often than single-channel shoppers, a pattern documented in a large-scale study of 46,000 consumers published by Harvard Business Review. The goal is to serve each customer effectively regardless of the path they took to get to you.

For showrooming customers, the priority is making it easy to buy from your brand online. If a customer evaluates your product in store and then buys elsewhere, the gap is either price, friction in your online checkout, or a lack of compelling reason to stay with your brand. Associates can help by capturing the customer's information during the in-store visit and following up digitally, which is exactly what clienteling tools like Endear are built for.

For webrooming customers, the priority is making sure the in-store experience justifies the research they did. If a customer walks in having spent an hour reading reviews, they need more than a shelf to look at. They need an associate who can add value to what they already know. Equipping store teams with customer data (what the customer browsed, what they saved, what questions they are likely to have) lets associates have a smarter conversation at the moment of decision.

How can retailers convert both showroomers and webroomers?

The practical tool is an omnichannel CRM that connects your online customer data to your in-store team. When a customer who has been browsing your site walks in, an associate with access to that browsing history can pick up the conversation where the website left off. That context is what turns a webroomer's research into a closed sale.

For showroomers, the same platform captures in-store interactions and enables the follow-up that keeps the sale in your brand's column. An associate who takes a note during a visit can send a personalized message after: the product the customer was looking at, a relevant recommendation, or a direct link to buy online from your store. You can set up your store for both paths by ensuring your physical and digital channels share the same customer data. When they do, it almost doesn't matter how the customer came in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is showrooming in retail?

Showrooming is when a customer visits a physical retail store to evaluate a product in person, then purchases it online, sometimes from a different retailer. The store acts as a showroom rather than a point of sale.

What is webrooming in retail?

Webrooming is when a customer researches a product online (reading reviews and comparing options) and then goes into a physical store to complete the purchase. The digital channel handles the research phase; the physical channel handles the transaction.

Is showrooming a problem for retailers?

Retailers with strong DTC e-commerce and associate-led digital outreach can convert showrooming customers even when the transaction happens online.

Do more customers showroom or webroom?

Both behaviors are common, and the split varies by product category. High-consideration purchases with complex specifications (electronics, furniture) tend to generate more webrooming. Price-sensitive categories with strong marketplace competition (apparel, accessories) tend to generate more showrooming.

How do you win with both showrooming and webrooming customers?

Give your store associates tools to capture and follow up with customers regardless of how they came in. For showroomers, a digital follow-up after the visit can complete the online sale with your brand. For webroomers, associates with access to the customer's browsing data can close the in-store decision more effectively.

The customers who showroom and the customers who webroom aren't choosing against your brand. They're choosing a path through the purchase that suits them. Your job is to be waiting at the end of both paths. Connect your in-store and digital operations tightly enough to serve customers on either one, and you win the sale regardless of how they got there.