In the most overt attempt to battle Showrooming yet, an Australian store has decided to charge $5 for “just looking” that will be deducted when goods are actually purchased. The goal is to get people to purchase actual items in the physical store, and discourages looking on phones and other mobile devices to compare and contrast prices – the management claims, of course, that their policies are in line with other stores and that their physical location has unique products worth investigating. The policy has been panned online, though, as many analysts think this policy will turn potential customers off from even entering the store in the first place, and many commenters have agreed that it seems like a desperate ploy. However you spin it, this is just another sign that brick-and-mortar stores are genuinely threatened by showrooming’s popularity.
Tag: australia
Tuesday sexy tech trifecta
Tuesday has brought a perfect trio of tech stories to feature. A mix of good news on the economic horizon, Australia’s exotic travel for blogging trade, and a new appointee to the FCC from the incoming President elect. Check out these top three glorious stories:
1. Hang on till 2010. Despite analysts’ predictions that tech spending will decline in 2009 (and that the earth will implode and we’ll all be living in Hoovervilles–do check out Scott Brown’s “Guided Tour of the Most Awesome Depression Ever” in this month’s Wired), things are looking brighter for those of us who can hold on for a year. By 2010 Forrester Research says spending could increase again…by as much as nine percent. So hang on to your hats, hunker down and let the fowl winds pass ya by, matey. There’s fair weather round the corner. Continue reading “Tuesday sexy tech trifecta”
