Here is a dramatic example of how consumers' mobile browsing habits are affecting retailers' merchandising strategies.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Target, the country's second largest retailer, sent an urgent letter to its vendors seeking their help in combating "showrooming" - a practice where a shopper visits a brick-and-mortar store to evaluate a product in person only to go online and purchase it somewhere else at a cheaper price. Target's proposal to vendors: create special packaging for us that won't allow consumers to easily scan and find the products elsewhere, or reduce your prices to meet online rivals.

Mobile websites, mobile search, and mobile price comparison apps are playing a huge role in the reality of today's new consumer behavior. Amazon.com encouraged this by running an "anti-brick and mortar" campaign last holiday season that let shoppers scan a product barcode in-store with their smartphones and rewarded them with up to 5% off when they purchased the product from Amazon.

Hopefully, what Target will come to realize is that mobile can play a vital and positive role when it comes to driving value and enhancing the customer experience. Give your customers a reason to use your mobile website or app to read reviews, offer exclusives, or loyalty rewards and discounts for repeat purchases. Asking your suppliers to change their packaging will only frustrate consumers and create a sense of dis-trust with your brand.

Areas such as customer service, sales training, and loyalty programs coupled with mobile's powerful personalization capabilities are likely to get consumers focusing less on price and more on convenient, enjoyable shopping experiences. But as a discount retailer, Target typically competes on price so it will be interesting to see if mobile price comparison shopping has a material impact on its in-store sales.

What do you think? Will the future be full of consumers standing in retail stores scanning products and then walking out empty-handed?