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Amazon Fire Phone a Gift to Local Retailers

As Amazon announces its new smartphone, the Kindle Fire Phone, prophets of doom are saying that it will be a destroyer of traditional retailers. They’re predicting that the Fire will be just another tool that shoppers will use to “showroom,” thereby cutting into in-store sales . . .

  • Showrooming, you remember, happens when consumers visit a store’s showroom to touch, feel, and try products. Then when they have selected one, they use their smartphones (or tablets) to buy it from a website like Amazon.com.

Showrooming vs. Webrooming

Webrooming is the opposite of showrooming . . .

  • Webrooming happens when customers visit a store’s showroom to pick products, go online to check prices and read reviews – and then buy the product right there in the store.

Accenture Study: Customers Like Webrooming (and Retailers Should Too)

Customers like the instant gratification that comes with buying in stores. That could explain why a recent Accenture Study of 750 shoppers found that 65% of them had showroomed, vs. 62% who said they had webroomed.

Here are some other reasons why the shoppers that Accenture polled said they really like to webroom and buy in stores rather than online . . .

  • Free, instant delivery. In-store product delivery is immediate and free. That beats most all of the shipping options that are available online.
  • “Click and collect.” Many of the shoppers who Accenture polled said that they practice a variation of showrooming called “click and collect.” To do it, they research products online, check inventory at local retailers, and then complete their purchases there.

So while you might not agree with me, today I am predicting that the Amazon Fire Phone might just be the new best friend of the local retailer.