The acronym T.O.P.O is used to refer to the expression “Try Offline, Purchase Online.”
T.O.P.O denotes the practice of going to view and test products on physical outlets and then purchasing them online (we also refer to this practice by the term called showrooming).
Users who usually choose this practice are usually more attracted by the offers they can find online on the same product, but still need to try it on or touch it with their hands. Therefore, it is common to try it in the physical store and is more related to particular product sectors, such as clothing.
Reference is often made to the concept of T.O.P.O, as opposed to that of “R.O.P.O,” which instead identifies a practice that finds in online research the first phase of a purchasing process that then goes on to conclude offline.
Actually, it is not correct to contrast these two practices, since, in the face of a consumer who moves with increasing fluidity between online and offline channels, such behaviours of product information search and actual purchase must be considered as the result of a single omnichannel experience, where the different modes of purchase can coexist.
