The prevalence of e-commerce is reducing high street retailers to ‘showrooms’, where shoppers travel to try out a product before buying it cheaper online. Author: Joe Elvin
That’s the verdict of Best Buy interim CEO Mike Mikan, who admits that the company is suffering as a result of its failure to act on this trend in the market.
At the retailer’s annual meeting, Mikan admitted that the company was failing to compete with web retailers, which are offering cheaper deals to customers using online payment solutions.
“Their [customers’] needs have changed. We unfortunately, have not,” he said.
It’s not just Best Buy who are struggling to compete with online retailers. Businessinsider.com reports that over six out of ten consumers who have tried ‘showrooming’ have done so in an electronic store.
Adidas is one of many major retailers to have recognised ‘showrooming’ as an issue. The sportswear company recently announced plans to remove all of its products from Amazon and eBay in an effort to boost high street sales.
Reacting to the news, ChannelAdvisorCorp Scot Wingo questioned whether such a strategy would be fruitful for the majority of retailers.
He told internetretailer.com: “Ebay has 100 million active buyers and Amazon has 173 million active buyers. Can they really afford in today’s climate to not have their products in front of that many potential buyers?”
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