I've personally not made that experience since

* if the item is expensive enough to be worth checking out physically, Amazon generally doesn't have it, since it's mostly full of Chinese copies and the genuine products are easier to ship from the manufacturers/smaller shops (since that's where Amazon actually has any margin)

* if the item is cheap, I'll gladly pay the margin in the physical store, since I'll get some extra joy out of having it now-now, not "when it gets there"-Amazon-"now".

I should note I am probably biased here from 3-7 days shipping times due to every Amazon order having to cross a border (into Switzerland).

Here in Germany we have fixed book prices (at least for German books). I think the publisher sets the price and it must not be sold for less with the exception if the book is damaged.

So in this case you really have no reason to order the book from Amazon if it is available at the book store.

For other products this is however true, probably because the price difference and the sometimes cumbersome return policies of retail shops.

But do they do this for bookstores in the same numbers? It seems like a different demographic desiring an increasingly niche product wouldn't be showrooming in the same degree. The most showrooming probably occurs at big box stores, or those that compete with Amazon on general goods.

Depends on the book. I read a lot, and if I am trying a new author out or a book I am not sure of, a hardback at £20 is a bit of a risk compared to kindle 99p perhaps.

I genuinely want to support local businesses, and I make the effort to buy local from Waterstones whenever possible. But it's not always feasible with the amount I buy. I have many thousands of books, including those on Kindle. I don't have physical space for them otherwise.

Yes, it's called "showrooming" and retailers hate it, not that there's much they can do to stop it.

However, for bookshops, I personally believe there's value in having a well-curated collection of books available locally, so I tend to allocate a portion of my book-buying money to physical stores.

An added bonus: Browsing for me is an excellent alternative to recommendation algorithms, and lets me pick up books that I otherwise wouldn't.

I do the opposite now. I search for stuff on Amazon and then go to Best Buy to buy it. Same day delivery even if ii have drive and way better confidence I wont get a counterfeit, it wont be damaged, and more often than not these days it's cheaper.