9 Ways to Fight Back Against Your Online Competition

Proven Ways to Win Back Tire-Kicking Customers

For brick-and-mortar retailers, it's tough enough to face a never-ending onslaught of online competition. But the real salt in the wound is when prospective customers shop in store to get an up-close look at the goods -- and then turn around and actually make a purchase from a cheaper online competitor.

The good news is there are strategies retailers can use to win over the online shopper, says Minneapolis-based retail expert Cinda Baxter, founder of The 3/50 Project, a campaign that urges consumers to buy from their local brick-and-mortar shops. Baxter was part of the team that developed Small Business Saturday, a widely reported promotion to encourage shopping at local stores on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

"If you've actually got a warm body in the room, you have a running shot at retaining the customer if you put a bit of effort into it," she says. Here's how.

-- Gwen Moran