Instead of being worried about showrooming, retailers
should provide free Wi-Fi to encourage shoppers do even more online browsing,
according to a new study from Acquity Group. The survey found that half of the responding smartphone
owners are more confident making major purchases when they can use free
in-store Wi-Fi to research a product.
The report also found that 30% of smartphone owners would
browse for additional items to buy and 20% would spend more time shopping if stores
offered free Wi-Fi. More than 1,500 smartphone owners were surveyed for the
study, which also showed that 78% looked up a retailer’s inventory online prior
to visiting the store and 60% said they made in-store purchases after browsing
for product images and information on their phone.
“Your site has to be mobile-optimized and you need to
make access to Wi-Fi easy,” said Mark Rein, group account director at Acquity
Group, in an article in Marketing Daily. “In-store Wi-Fi also tends to keep customers in the store
longer, where they’ll view—and be more likely to purchase—items not on their
list.”