‘Webrooming’ shoppers research online, then buy in stores

The Boston Globe reports:

Retailers hate it when customers whip out their smartphones in the middle of a store, check the Internet to match an item right in front of them, then buy it online at a better price — the common practice known as “showrooming.”

But several new retail business studies suggest shoppers are more likely to turn the familiar showrooming tactic upside down around the holidays. They found that “webrooming” — the process of looking at a product online and then buying later at a store — is actually the more popular way to shop.

Competition.