The growing retail trend of showrooming — checking out the goods in person, then buying online — has many industry execs shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. (It's been cited as one of the main reasons Best Buy is struggling.) But MTSU marketing professor Don Roy says companies can take a page from Apple and push to own the shopping experience.

The challenge is how to take advantage of the trend of showrooming instead of falling victim to it. Yes, certain defensive responses can be taken like downsizing square footage and increasing product assortments online. But, play offense, too.