The smartphone has become the bane of the retail industry, as savvy customers use physical stores to comparison-shop before going online on their phones to buy the same goods at a cheaper price, a practice known as showrooming. But brick-and-mortar stores are now fighting fire with fire, using smartphones to entice customers into their stores and make an immediate purchase. With the help of a new technology called geofencing, stores are sending texts to nearby customers and engaging with them on a more personal level.
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