showrooming

Purchasing an item online after you have looked at and inspected the item in a store. Due to increased online shopping, showrooming has become extremely common. Many customers are worried about purchasing an item online before physically being able to see the product. Therefore, many consumers will first go to the brick and mortar retail store first to look at and test out the item but will not purchase it in the store. They will then purchase the item online because they have found a lower price. Many retailers are trying to combat showrooming by offering special incentives that can only be obtained if the item is purchased in store; some are also going as far as introducing a "fitting fee" to deter customers from just browsing and not purchasing anything.