Identifying the drivers of ‘loyal showrooming’: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Retail showrooming behaviour is described as the phenomenon in which customers browse the products in-store before making the purchase online at a lower price. This is due to the fact that different shopping channels have emerged and have gained the attention of customers. However, customers do prefer visiting the showroom to check on the prices and best buying options within the store. The retail environment is progressing towards the environment where store-based offline shopping does exist with online shopping mediums, and retailers need to understand the factors that maximize customers’ purchase within the store during showrooming. This paper is aimed at establishing the significance of loyal showrooming and determining its drivers based on an extensive literature review of 168 research articles published in indexed journals during the last 12 years. It is suggested that retailers should adopt strategies based on the present multichannel retailing environment and the driving factors identified to convert the showroomers into loyal showroomers.