Dubbed ROPO<\/a>\u00a0(research online, purchase offline), this customer behavior was essential in driving manufacturers to improve their web content to increase both physical and online sales. There were a number of reasons consumers preferred to buy items in physical stores a decade ago even though they were available for purchase online.<\/p>\n Buying online was still a relatively new experience; people were used to going to big-box chains for major purchases, and appreciated the tried-and-true comfort of physically handing money to a human being for goods and services. Some people simply didn\u2019t trust the Internet.<\/p>\n As consumers became more comfortable purchasing online, sales in physical stores began to decrease. As Circuit Citys and K-Marts across the country closed their doors, some wondered if researching online and purchasing offline would become a fad of the past. The physical retail landscape is still changing in ways we can\u2019t fully predict, and ROPO as we knew it has changed. But it hasn\u2019t died out; it\u2019s evolved. The online marketplace is continuously adapting to cater to the desires of demanding consumers.\u00a0As consumer data is now collected and analyzed in increasingly effective ways, and technology improves to push conversions to peak efficiency, it\u2019s become clear that ROPO is actually a two-way street. Consumers still research online and purchase offline, but they also research offline and purchase online.<\/p>\n Perhaps since two definitions of ROPO shared the same acronym, new terms were created to differentiate the two. Webrooming refers to the practice of researching an item online before going to a physical store to purchase it. Showrooming is its opposite, where consumers check out products in a physical store first before going online and looking for the best price.<\/p>\n While originally thought to be a threat to in-store sales, showrooming is in fact a more nuanced activity. A recent study looked at different motivations of mobile-assisted shoppers<\/a> and found that fewer than half were motivated by seeking\u00a0a lower price.<\/p>\n Though digital sales continue to increase, brick-and-mortars are by no means becoming obsolete. Even companies that sell online exclusively are starting to open physical retail locations because there is no virtual comparison to trying on a shirt to make sure it fits right, or smelling a fragrance before you decide to coat yourself in it.<\/p>\n Birchbox.com is an online service with over 800,000 members. Though conceived as an online-only delivery service, they opened a physical store in New York City 2014. Birchbox cofounder and co-CEO Katia Beauchamp thinks that she might not have originally received funding for her company if the initial rollout included retail stores. \u201cBack in 2010, holding inventory in a store wasn\u2019t cool,\u201d she recently told Entrepreneur<\/a>. \u201cBut now investors see how the store can add legitimacy to an established online brand.\u201d<\/p>\n As Beauchamp explained to NY Magazine<\/a>, \u201cThe reality is that 95 percent of all beauty products sold are still purchased offline. That means we send a lot of our customers offline, to shop.\u201d In the case of Birchbox, opening a retail shop makes sense: If their customers are already researching on their site to buy later in a store, Birchbox might as well own the store.<\/p>\n Warby Parker and Athleta, both originally conceived as online-only businesses, have\u00a0also opened physical shops in the past few years. And they aren’t alone. Many other formerly digital pure-play companies<\/a>\u00a0are opening physical locations, whether with pop-up shops, space in large retail chains such as Nordstrom, or dedicated storefronts.<\/p>\n What businesses need to do to accommodate and capitalize on all\u00a0types of shoppers is now an essential part of omnichannel marketing<\/a>. Whether a prospective buyer is webrooming or showrooming, businesses need to be equipped for them to begin an interaction on one channel and be able to finish it effortlessly on another.<\/p>\n Figuring out how to seamlessly facilitate the consumer experience across all devices and channels benefits from collecting and analyzing many sources of data. Though some may currently see omnichannel as an aspirational content strategy, there are a number of companies who claim they can gather the data to get you there.<\/p>\n Brand View<\/a> \u201cgathers pricing online, integrates field-collected data from bricks and mortar stores, and combines this information with our client\u2019s own data feeds to present them with one holistic view of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n Certona<\/a> offers the ability to \u201cautomate merchandising and marketing for revenue optimization, use personalization to collect and act upon consumer behavioral data in real-time, and integrate a seamless individualized experience throughout your customer touch points.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"ROPO](\"http:\/\/content26.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/two_way_street.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWebrooming and Showrooming: ROPO Is a Two-Way Street<\/h2>\n
![\"Illustration](\"http:\/\/content26.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/omnichannel.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFormulating an Omnichannel Strategy<\/h2>\n