The proportion of online shopping has been increasing steadily over time. One of the main reasons for this trend is the widespread and improved accessibility of the internet in parallel with technological developments. The internet, which affects many aspects of human life, has also significantly transformed the way individuals shop. Purchasing activities that were previously carried out solely by visiting physical retail stores have, with the advancement of internet technologies, become feasible in online environments as well. Today, many consumers simultaneously use both physical stores and online shopping channels. Accordingly, consumers are able to shop through various channels, including brands’ own websites, e-commerce platforms, social media applications, and physical points of sale.

In addition, there has been an increase in the number of consumers who visit physical stores to obtain information about and experience products, and then purchase the same products through online shopping websites. This type of consumer behavior is defined in the literature as “showrooming.” Various factors influence the emergence of showrooming behavior, and this behavior is associated with different outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine consumers’ showrooming behavior in detail.

The research is based on a phenomenological design, which focuses on participants’ personal experiences and aims to reveal individuals’ perceptions and the meanings they attribute to events. The sample of the study consists of 21 consumers living in Türkiye, aged 18 and over, who engage in showrooming behavior. These participants were reached using the snowball sampling method. Data were collected from the participants through in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive analysis methods; however, validity and reliability analyses were conducted prior to these analyses.

According to the research findings, the majority of participants engage in showrooming behavior primarily due to favorable prices and the opportunity to see and try products in physical stores. Participants particularly exhibit showrooming behavior in product categories such as clothing, footwear, cosmetics, and electronics. They prefer e-commerce platforms and price comparison websites when researching products and consider competitive pricing to be the most important advantage of showrooming behavior. At the same time, participants state that their showrooming behavior harms retailers, noting that this harm manifests in declining sales and the waste of retailers’ labor and expenses. Finally, participants emphasize that in order to prevent showrooming behavior, retailers should offer promotions and align in-store prices with online prices.

It is expected that the findings of this study will contribute both to the consumer behavior literature and to businesses that encounter showrooming behavior and seek to better understand the reasons behind consumers’ actions and their perceptions of this behavior.