A pet retailer has urged other shopkeepers to stamp out the growing trend of showrooming where consumers browse in store but then buy online.

Piers Smart of Scampers in Cambridgeshire said: "I think shoppers who do this are downright rude. If I see it happening in my store I would tell the person to leave, and I would advise other retailers to do the same."

Showrooming has in double quick time become a serious reality across almost all retail sectors, including the pet retail industry, thanks in part to the relentless march of smartphone and tablet technology, which makes it easy to check how the price of the product you’re looking at in-store compares to online sources.

The British Retail Consortium reported that in the fourth quarter of 2012, search volumes on tablet devices outpaced those on any other device, increasing by 238% and on smartphone devices by 76%.

A survey before Christmas by Real Business Today (realbusiness.co.uk) revealed that that one in five shoppers said they had researched online after a store visit – and nearly half of those ended up buying elsewhere.

"Fortunately, we haven't suffered from this practice," said Piers. "But I'll be keeping a close eye on it in future.

"We pride ourselves on having the best range of products on our shelves. Customers visit us because of that fact and they know they are getting good value for money," said Piers, whose shop has just experienced it best January sales weeks ever.

"I'm always urging suppliers to help independent pet shops, and they can do their bit to stop this practice of showrooming."



If Piers spots showrooming happening in Scampers, the shopper will be ejected from the store.