Marketing specialists love nothing more than a catchy word to describe complex behaviour. One of the newest is “webrooming”, where customers browse products online before turning up at a real-world shop to purchase them. (The opposite to this is showrooming, where customers browse real shops before purchasing online.)
According to an analysis of Google data, UAE shoppers lead the world in webrooming, with 53 per cent of people using a smartphone to research their purchases. That compares with just 21 per cent in the UK and 28 per cent in the US.
A chief reason is because the address system is not standardised, restricting the simplicity of online shopping. At the same time, malls are ubiquitous and most people will spend time in at least one during the week – it is there that people meet, eat, shop and socialise. Part of the reason, then, for people purchasing in real life is simply that there’s a lot in the malls – and people are in the malls a lot.
The argument about online commerce is striking and this newspaper has long argued for its expansion. At the same time, there is something to be said for mall culture. It can be expressed in one word: serendipity. There are few better feelings than bumping by chance into a friend and spending an unexpected afternoon together.
But there is also such a thing as serendipitous purchasing. Online stores, such as Amazon, increasing tailor what they advertise based on our previous purchases. The result is something of an echo-chamber, where the purchase of one product – say a television – sparks off weeks of advertisements for related products. The same applies to books: buy one crime novel and expect endless adverts for the latest James Patterson or Stephen King. But just as the joy of a brick-and-mortar bookstore is stumbling across an unknown book, so the joy of a mall lies in discovering unintended purchases. Browse the brightly lit aisles and something is bound to capture your attention and your credit card. That’s serendipitous shopping – or at least that’s how you should explain it to your spouse.