Why E-Commerce Sites Need to Offer Consumers the Ability to Buy Online and Pick Up In Store

The option to buy online and pick up in store has grown steadily over the past few years — but it has exploded within the last month due to COVID-19 and the in-person shopping restrictions affecting essential and non-essential businesses.

Now that brick-and-mortar retailers have started reopening after COVID-19 shutdowns, businesses are quickly learning that the new consumer buying habits and behaviors that emerged during the crisis aren’t going away anytime soon. One such trend is Buy Online, Pick up in Store, otherwise known as BOPIS. 

As COVID-19 thrust a lot of retailers into omnichannel strategies, those who executed it successfully have seen large gains. Many retailers that had not yet launched omnichannel commerce solutions such as BOPIS and its extension, curb-side pick-up, rushed to implement new avenues to capture sales. Others that took a wait-and-see approach are now finding that this option has quickly become a must-have service. 

In fact, buy online, pick up in store purchases increased by 248% the week of May 25 to 31 compared to February 24 to March 1, new data from Signifyd finds. Customers have spoken with their wallets and BOPIS is here to stay. Still, without a well planned strategy and integrated approach, businesses can damage their consumer relationships and lose customers.

Developing a BOPIS strategy requires a comprehensive approach in order for it to be executed seamlessly. At Melon, we start by analyzing the e-commerce landscape and taking a look at current buying habits and unmet customer needs. Our user experience and design approach aims to shorten the customer journey of BOPIS, prioritizing convenience and streamlined shopping experiences. Melon’s solution is designed around business and operational goals, as well as technical best practices. Operators need to understand that data analytics are critical to understand what is working and what opportunities exist when pivoting their BOPIS approach. Melon’s strategy is data-driven, integrated, and customer-centric, but still flexible and affordable enough to help businesses realize fast ROI. Done correctly, BOPIS can deepen the customer experience, increase average order price and promote loyalty.  

With an expected second wave of COVID-19, this service has become a must. Here are three ways that retailers can optimize the effectiveness of BOPIS in their omnichannel retail strategy by combining the ease of shopping online with the immediacy and convenience of finding merchandise at a brick-and-mortar store.

How does BOPIS work?

BOPIS integrates online and in-person shopping experiences and offers consumers more options to meet their needs. Consumers are able to shop online and decide whether the items are worth the shipping time and costs or whether to pick up those items in-store within a reasonable window of time.  

Steps for the BOPIS experience typically include:

1. A customer shops online.

2. The customer is given the option to pick up items in store, requiring integration with in-store inventory or geo-located local warehouses.

3. Customers may decide some items are worth waiting for and some are needed immediately.

4. Store retailers fulfill these orders and notify customers through text message, a mobile app, email or QSR code when they are ready to be picked up.

5. Customers pick up their order in the store — ideally in designated, well-marked areas.

6. Retailers offering curbside pickup will need to add SMS or phone capabilities into the pick-up process.

Why should retailers implement BOPIS?

Since customers are already integrating the in-store and online experience, whether it be by checking their phones for prices, inventory or variants, it's time for retailers to adapt and optimize their strategy to appeal to this new normal.

BOPIS also helps reduce friction, satisfies customer pain-points and negates the two biggest reasons for checkout abandonment online — shipping costs and timelines. According to a survey by BigCommerce, 48% of surveyed shoppers use BOPIS to counter shipping fees and 65% of customers say they look up the free-shipping thresholds before adding items to their carts. 

In general, BOPIS offers an easier way to shop and provides same-day receipt of orders and contactless shopping experience. Not only does driving traffic in-store allow for upsells with in-store purchases, but the online application can send notifications and messages about relevant promotions or products to improve the online aspect of purchasing products. The variety of human touch points increases customer satisfaction, meets immediate shopping needs and offers easier returns than through shipping. BOPIS also offers the ability to check and correct any errors in-store. For example, when picking up at a physical store, shoppers can check the products, try them on, and decide right there whether the purchase is worth it. 

Lastly, BOPIS allows businesses to analyze trends and decide which products are popular during which time frames — in other words, it provides another way for retailers to generate customer purchase-history data.

Things that retailers should be careful to avoid

To achieve success, it’s important for retailers to create a streamlined platform that enables customers to complete purchases online or in-app, simultaneously selecting the time and store location to pick up the purchased products. If the experience consists of choppy transitions or insufficient, delayed, or conflicting communication, it can quickly send customers running. Integrated planning, including mapping the customer journey both online and in-store, ensures that retailers can provide a holistic buying experience. 

Also, retailers need to analyze and implement the right technology components to deliver the most up-to-date inventory available to the consumer. This allows retailers to provide realistic availability times based on geolocated inventory and provide ship-to-store options for items out of stock at a specific location. 

The purpose behind BOPIS for many shoppers is quick pick-up. However, long lines are a common issue for this service, especially around the holidays. Forty percent of online shoppers use BOPIS during the busy holiday season. The more foot traffic that retailers drive to their physical stores, the more effort and time they need to take to serve all shoppers and provide them with the best experience.

There is no doubt that many shopping habits will likely stick after the crisis has passed, and the growing familiarity with and adoption of online shopping will have a long-term impact on the acceleration of BOPIS and curbside pickup. COVID-19 has taught everyone how important it is to future-proof the retail industry in order to prosper in a tough and fast-changing climate. When it comes to BOPIS, businesses need to closely examine what’s working, what isn’t and how future improvements could provide a smoother, more streamlined process for all involved.