Williams-Sonoma Flogs IPhone-Savvy Gear to Win Customers: Retail

Williams-Sonoma, the luxury U.S. emporium that persuaded a nation of foodies to shell out hundreds of dollars for the latest kitchen gadget, has fallen victim to “showrooming.”

Browsers drop by, check out the Shun Hiro $249.95 Santoku knives and $699.95 Nespresso Gran Maestria espresso machines and buy them or similar items for less elsewhere -- treating the stores like showrooms. While the practice typically afflicts chains such as Best Buy Co. that sell commodity products, Williams-Sonoma was long immune because it fielded exclusive merchandise. Now a host of rivals from Web upstarts like Cutlery & More LLC to entrenched players such as Macy’s Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. sell much of the same gear for less as they tussle over what researcher NPD Group Inc. estimates is a $12.3 billion market.