There was a time when people had no idea about this idea as brick-and-mortar shops used to dominate the scene. However, with the mushrooming of different other platforms and boom of e-commerce sites the notion of showrooming has recently become more meaningful and gained currency.

To define the term in Wikipedia’s words, showrooming is the practice of examining merchandise in a traditional brick-and-mortar retail store or other offline setting, and then buying it online, sometimes at a lower price. Online stores often offer lower prices than their brick and mortar counterparts because they do not have the same overhead cost.

A 2012 comScore study found 35% of U.S. consumers reported showrooming and of those, half were between 25 and 34 years old. A 2013 survey polled 750 U.S. consumers, 73% of whom reported having showroomed in the previous six months.

Such statistics clearly indicate the fact that showrooming is indeed a very important concept for the shopaholics nowadays. So, how to win the game?

First, this is a frenzy idea. You must have the patience to do all the research by visiting one showroom after another. When you decide to do this, be prepared that you will have to walk a lot as moving from one outlet to another is not an easy task. If you have that mindset, you are good to go.

Second, decide on the things you want to research. Say for example- if you want to buy a fashion essential from an online marketplace, look for those items only in the physical outlets and note down the prices.

Third, compare in a judicious way. Remember that the whole point of mushrooming is you want to buy things at a lower rate than the original shops. So, compare the prices time and again. Then, decide the best price for your desired product. To that end, you must also visit the online marketplaces and compare the prices to get a better idea so that you can finally jolt down the options and draw a conclusion.

(The writer is a shopaholic and a fashion enthusiast.)