The ROPO Effect: What It Is and How It Impacts Retail

The ROPO effect (research online, purchase offline) is increasingly significant for retailers, so it is essential that they understand how to leverage this phenomenon.

In this article, we explain what the ROPO effect is, explore its variations, and share tips on how to adjust your sales strategy to benefit from it.

Contents:

What Is the ROPO Effect?

Why Shoppers Opt for the ROPO Strategy

How the ROPO Effect Impacts Retail

Adapting Your Sales Strategies to the ROPO Effect

What Is the ROPO Effect?

The acronym ROPO stands for Research Online, Purchase Offline. ROPO is a pattern of behavior where consumers research products online but make their purchases in physical stores.

By researching products online, consumers can make informed decisions before heading to a store to buy the product in person. ROPO is especially common in product categories where customers prefer to assess items firsthand before committing to a purchase.

For instance, a study conducted in Poland from 2021 to 2023 reveals that nearly 40% of respondents researched household appliances and electronics online but chose to buy them in-store. Shoes were the second most common category influenced by the ROPO effect, with 37% of respondents opting to purchase offline after conducting online research and comparisons.

Some customers prefer to feel or examine a product in person before buying, while others want to purchase an item immediately without waiting for delivery. While we typically refer to ROPO when talking about the interaction of online and offline sales channels, in reality there are several variations of purchasing behavior:

• ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline): Customers search for product information online but complete their purchase in a physical store.
• ROBO (Research Offline, Buy Online): Shoppers visit a store to explore a product, then make their purchase online.

Additionally, some researchers highlight other variations of this behavior:

• Purchase online, pick up in-store: Customers buy a product online but choose in-store pickup to save on delivery fees and avoid waiting for shipping.
• Purchase online, pick up in-store + additional purchases: Shoppers buy an item online and pick it up in-store, but while at the store, they make additional impulse purchases.

Understanding these variations in consumer behavior allows retailers to better tailor their marketing strategies to meet customer preferences.

Why Shoppers Opt for the ROPO Strategy

Most brick-and-mortar stores operate on a fixed schedule and are typically open for eight to ten hours a day. However, many people with busy routines want to minimize the time they spend shopping. These customers often prefer to research products online, where they can gather information at their convenience. The internet offers consumers a self-service experience, allowing them to access all the product details they need whenever they want.

There are generally four key reasons why consumers opt for a ROPO strategy instead of making an immediate online purchase:

• A desire to closely examine the product in person
• A need to get the product immediately, without waiting for delivery
• A wish to avoid delivery fees
• Reluctance to share personal data on an e-commerce platform

How the ROPO Effect Impacts Retail

In many product categories, the ROPO effect has significant implications for businesses, as it directly impacts sales levels — and not always in a positive way. For example, a potential customer might choose a competitor that provides more comprehensive and persuasive product information on their website.

According to a 2023 study by ESW, nearly 90% of consumers now expect brands to deliver seamless omnichannel experiences across both their preferred online and in-store interaction points. The study also offers the following insights:

• Meeting consumer expectations can lead to long-term rewards for brands. Companies that offer a strong omnichannel experience could see up to a 20% increase in total revenue.
• Brands that use at least three sales channels in their strategies achieve 287% higher purchase rates compared to those with just one channel.

HubSpot surveyed over 18,000 shoppers across 18 countries to identify the dominant trends in omnichannel shopping. They found that consumers most commonly use the research online, purchase offline approach when buying items like consumer electronics, cosmetics, toys, and hobby products.

The study also highlights a rise in omnichannel purchases across several categories between 2023 and 2024. These include luxury goods (up 36%), consumer electronics (30%), cosmetics (26%), footwear (22%), and apparel (19%).

Based on this data, we can conclude that the ROPO effect is gaining momentum. Consumers frequently use the internet to check product reviews, compare prices, and find special offers, but they ultimately buy offline because they want to see the product in person, consult with a salesperson, or test the item before making a purchase. For retailers, this underscores the importance of integrating both online and offline sales channels to deliver an optimal customer experience.

Many brands are adopting omnichannel sales strategies to fully capitalize on the ROPO effect. Well-known global examples include Apple, which allows customers to research and reserve products online before experiencing them in-store; IKEA, which seamlessly blends online browsing with in-store pickup and product testing; and Nike, which uses a combination of digital tools and physical stores to enhance customer engagement and drive sales.

Adapting Your Sales Strategies to the ROPO Effect

Integrating Data from Online and Offline Channels

It’s essential to collect, merge, and analyze information on how customers interact with your products online (through your website, social media channels, and ads) and offline (in physical stores).

1. Identify key customer touchpoints

Determine where customers are seeking information about your products online (website, social media, reviews) and how they’re purchasing those products offline (in-store, at branches).

2. Implement a unified data collection system

Leverage business intelligence tools to consolidate data from both online and offline sales channels. This will give you a clearer understanding of customer behavior at various stages of the purchasing journey.

3. Analyze customer behavior trends

Track how online campaigns impact offline purchases, such as whether in-store sales increase following an online promotion.

4. Optimize strategies using data-driven insights

Adjust your marketing and sales strategies based on the insights you gather. For example, if customers are researching a product online but buying it in-store, ensure that prices and promotions are consistent across all channels.

5. Broaden your market perspective

Focus not only on your sales but also on your competitors’ actions. With Pricer24, you can compare competitors’ online store prices and product assortments. This allows you to better understand market trends and adjust your online strategies in a way that could also positively impact your offline sales.

Analyzing integrated data will provide valuable insights into the customer journey — what customers search for online, what they buy in-store, and why.

Omnichannel Marketing

An effective omnichannel sales strategy must be built upon a cohesive omnichannel marketing strategy. This entails ensuring that all customer interaction channels — both online and offline — are interconnected, providing a seamless and convenient experience for buyers, regardless of whether they engage with the brand in a physical store, online, via a mobile application, or through other channels.

Let’s explore how this works with a few examples.

Example 1: Joint Online and Offline Promotions

Imagine running a promotion on your website that offers a promo code for a 10% discount. To maximize impact, you could extend this promotion to your physical stores, allowing customers to present the promo code on their phones at checkout. This omnichannel approach allows customers the flexibility to choose where to use their discount, enhancing loyalty and boosting conversion rates.

Example 2: Consistent Messaging Across All Channels

A customer might first discover your product on Instagram, then receive an email reminder to complete their purchase if they’ve added the item to their cart but haven’t checked out. When the customer later visits a physical store, your app can send a push notification offering the same discount as an extra incentive to buy. This demonstrates an omnichannel marketing strategy, where all channels are synchronized to work towards a common goal.

Example 3: Integrated Loyalty Programs

Consider a loyalty program that operates seamlessly across both online and offline platforms. A customer purchasing a product from your online store can earn points that they can redeem during their next in-store visit, and vice versa. This holistic experience encourages customers to remain loyal to your brand across all channels.

A critical aspect of retail is establishing a unified communication space where each channel enhances the others. Omnichannel marketing is not merely about having a presence on multiple platforms; it’s about creating a cohesive and convenient journey that motivates the customer to make a purchase.

In addition to synchronizing all communication channels, the key principles of omnichannel marketing include:

• A Unified Customer Database: All customer information is stored in a single system, ensuring consistency in customer data and experience regardless of the channel through which the customer interacts with the brand.
• Consistent Brand Experience: Customers receive uniform messages across various content distribution channels, including the website, social media, and physical stores.
• Omnichannel Promotions: Promotional campaigns and loyalty programs can be used seamlessly in both online and offline settings.
• Comprehensive Customer Behavior Analysis: Marketing strategies are informed by data analysis from all interaction channels, allowing for more precise campaign adjustments.

Ultimately, omnichannel marketing empowers retailers to be more flexible, innovative, and responsive to the needs of today’s consumers.