“People buy gifts online!” says online make-up firm ahead of Christmas
Are you a Christmas ‘showroomer’? Seven in 10 savvy shoppers browse for presents in shops but buy online for less
Seven out of ten women admit they will be ‘showrooming’ for Christmas presents this year.
The phenomenon involves looking for gifts in shops but then buying cheaper online.
On average, savvy shoppers polled in the survey estimate the tactic will save them £78 in total.
The news comes as online retailers gear up for Cyber Monday (December 2), the biggest British online shopping day before Christmas, which is set to see a record £1billion spent in just 24 hours.
Christmas is just around the corner, and with it the culmination of weeks and months of dedicated, efficient and/or frenzied consumerism.
Of course, the savvy shopper knows that the biggest bang for your buck can be achieved by a little web know-how, hence the introduction of the made-up term ‘showrooming’ – invented to describe the art of buying online what you’ve seen in the stores, but primarily invented by PR people to secure attention for their particular client:
A spokesperson for Escentual.com who commissioned the survey, said: ‘It’s hardly surprising that showrooming for Christmas has become so popular when shoppers are finding that it saves them nearly 20 per cent on their bill.
If you were under any illusions as to why Escentual want to stress the importance of shopping online, their spokesperson happily clarifies for you:
‘The women in our survey said they would save £78 on an average Christmas shop of £331, and they said beauty products and fragrances was one of the areas where they would find a better deal online.’
You see, it isn’t just the savvy shopper who can harness the power of the internet.