As the last of what were once more than 500 Borders bookstores disappeared, along with hundreds of independents, Amazon helped to add a new word — "showrooming" — to the fast-evolving digital lexicon.

According to Codex Group, a book audience research firm in New York, people use their neighborhood stores as a form of literary dressing room: Try it on for size, but buy it elsewhere. It’s a trend that shows no sign of abating, said Peter Hildick-Smith, president of Codex.

Earlier this year, his firm surveyed 5,067 book buyers from around the country about their buying habits and 28 percent said they "showroomed."

Bookstore owners everywhere have a lurking suspicion: that the customers who type into their smartphones while browsing in the store, and then leave, are planning to buy the books online later — probably at a steep discount from the bookstores’ archrival, Amazon.com.

Now a survey has confirmed that the practice, known among booksellers as showrooming, is not a figment of their imaginations.