Have you ever seen something you wanted in a shop, tried it, checked the price online on your smartphone, found it was cheaper, and walked out? Welcome to the world of "showrooming". "The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon" read the sign in a shop window shortly after the British camera chain went into administration. It was a dry reaction to a growing problem for "bricks and mortar"-focused retailers. Showrooming is said to have exacerbated the decline of high-profile brands like Comet. Gadget stores, bookshops and the cosmetics industry are all losing sales to showroomers, but solutions have proved hard to find. Kelly Buckle, 23, of Birmingham, sometimes spends more than £200 in a single shopping trip - but never actually gets as far as the checkout. "I can go in and smell a perfume and then find it online for £30 less," she says. Research by design agency Foolproof found that 24% of people showroomed while Christmas shopping - and 40% of them took their business elsewhere. Showroomers are not doing anything illegal. But the process can still be embarrassing. "I feel bad about it, especially when the staff have been helpful, but it's my money," says Buckle. Bricks and mortar shops have to pay rent, bills and staff salaries. Online retailers can offer cheaper prices because they don't. But the online giants get a benefit from the very existence of bricks and mortar shops. It leaves physical retailers in a quandary. An Australian speciality food shop recently raised eyebrows by charging $5 (£3.37) just for browsing. And some shoe and clothes stores in America and Australia have also tried a "fitting fee". In all instances the fee is taken off the bill when someone buys something. Victoria Barnsley, chief executive of HarperCollins, recently suggested the idea of charging a fee for browsing bookshops is "not that insane". Steve Pritchard, 61, who runs an independent book store in Crosby, Merseyside, and has worked in the trade for more than 36 years, is not convinced. "We see them in the corner with their mobile phones, scanning the barcode on a book and finding it cheaper. I can't blame them," he says. "I can't see a way to stop it. Charging people to browse has been suggested but it's a daft idea because you still want people to come in. "You've just got to make your retail environment pleasant, have people here who know what they're talking about and try to embarrass them out of doing it. A growing number of retailers allow customers to order online and check or collect their goods in store - avoiding the inevitable missed delivery cards and increasing the chances of them buying something else while they are there. But for many, the most important factor is still the price. "My wife asked me to get a new celebrity cookbook which I found in Waterstones for £27. Using my smartphone I was able to search for it and I instantly found it on Amazon for £15," Beeching says. "If the price had been closer maybe I'd have done the right thing. But especially in times where a lot of people are strapped for cash - what do you expect them to do?" 

 Questions to be answered: 

1. personal experience regarding showrooming?

 2. importance of price to us when shopping online? 

3. a) opinion/take on some shops in Australia and USA charging online browsing fee although the fee is taken off the bill when buy something later?

 b) Will this type of business model be welcomed in Canadian? Yes or No. Comment on  choice of response.

 c) Assume response to Question 3B is yes (this means you have to take a yes position), how much(in terms of dollars) are generally prepared to pay for an online browsing fee and fitting fee and why?