A health food shop in Adelaide, Australia, has decided to charge customers $5 for "just looking". The problem is that customers keep coming into the shop and leaving without buying anything. “They pretend to be interested in a product and ask for advice,” says Kate Reeves, the shop owner, "but they usually don't buy anything." 

This new phenomenon is called "showrooming". People visit a shop, examine a product, and then buy it online, where it is cheaper. Kate says she spends hours every day talking about products with customers "I can't stand working and not getting paid," she says. 'No one can make me work for free!' 

Everyone avoids paying more than they have to, but customers fail to realise that Kate's prices are mostly the same as in larger stores and on websites. They prefer to shop elsewhere as they expect to find the product at a lower price. "If customers choose to buy something, I return the $5 fee," says Kate. 

Many shops face the same problem and some may end up introducing a similar charge. The danger is that it asks putting customers off. But Kate in Adelaide says it has made no difference to her business.



1. What is 'showrooming? Have you or someone you know ever showroomed?

2. Do you prefer to buy things in shops or online? Why?

3. Should you expect to pay more for goods in a shop than on a website? Why? /Why not?

4. What would you do if you had to pay to look around a shop?