39% of people who bought a book from Amazon in the US has previously looked at the book in a physical store

"Looking at products in stores and then buying them at lower prices via the Internet. A survey conducted in late 2011 by a book market research company, the Codex Group, indicated that 39 percent of people who purchased books from Amazon said they had looked at the book in a bookstore before buying it online. Best Buy’s recently announced fourth-quarter loss – $1.7 billion, resulting in the closing of at least 50 stores – can in part be attributed to “showrooming,” the name given to the practice of visiting stores to look at products and then price shopping and ultimately purchasing the products online. Indeed, Best Buy stores seem to be a perfect venue for finding and toying with all the latest technology – but not necessarily buying it there."

Source:  ReveNews, 19th April 2012