These Retailers Face Most Risk From Amazon's 'Showrooming' Mobile Customers

"Showrooming" is the concept that describes shoppers who walk around stores like Walmart, Target and Best Buy and then use their mobile phones to compare prices at other stores or online at Amazon.

An entire guerrilla advertising industry has grown up around showrooming, with companies paying to advertise on mobile phones that they know — through geolocation — are in or near big box stores in hopes of tempting them toward offers from rivals.

Placed, a company that analyses in-store visits, did a survey of 14,925 U.S. shoppers via a mobile app to determine which stores are most at risk from mobile purchases being made at Amazon.

The results show that Amazon is not an equal threat to all stores: Bed Bath & Beyond is most likely to suffer from its own in-store customers looking up cheaper stuff on Amazon. Best Buy also suffers disproportionately. Note that general retailers have less risk than those like BB&B, PetSmart and Toys R Us, which sell one-off purchases that are often more expensive than stuff sold at JC Penney or Target:

"Showroomers that purchase on Amazon are 20% more likely to visit Best Buy and 15% more likely to visit Target than average, but several other retailers face an even greater risk," Placed says.

Although Walmart carries a low risk of showrooming — perhaps because customers believe they're already looking at the lowest possible prices — it is in fierce competition with Amazon. These are the companies that share most customers with the online retailer:

Hat tip to Ad Exchanger.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.