‘Webrooming’ Outdraws ‘Showrooming’ Among Young Consumers, a Study Finds

Younger consumers are more likely to combine an in-store visit and online product research or purchases than their older counterparts. That’s one finding from the FutureBuystudy released Tuesday by GfK, a Germany-based research firm.

The study, which examined U.S. consumer buying behavior, found that 46% of consumers between 18 and 26 years old researched a product on a mobile device and then purchased it in a store, a process called “webrooming.” GfK says that is 5 percentage points higher than in 2015 and surpasses all other age groups by 12 to 27 points. Webrooming is the reverse of showrooming, when the consumer conducts product research in a store but then buys the product online.

Younger consumers increased their showrooming activity, too, in 2015, with 32% participating in that shopping behavior. That is an increase from 24% in 2015 and 11 to 20 percentage points higher than other age groups.

Overall, webrooming is more popular among all U.S. shoppers—34%—than showrooming, 21%.

Younger consumers also expressed concern about protecting their payment data and personal information. In the 18-to-26 age group, 33% cited data-security protection as a concern, up from 26% in 2015.