The use of BOPIS (Buy Online Pick up In Store) grew nearly 500% during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, more than half of consumers surveyed by Package Concierge® plan to maintain their current frequency of BOPIS usage while nearly one-third will use it more.
There are various ways to deploy BOPIS solutions. Examine what you’ve done and so far and see what worked and what didn’t. Ask the customers who took advantage of BOPIS how they felt about the experience. Was the notification process timely? What about their experience once people got to your store?
Click & Collect
Click & collect encompasses BOPIS and curbside pickup, which have soared in usage over the past few years. According to the 2021 Omnichannel Report in 2018, click & collect generated $22.16 billion in sales, accounting for 4.2% of retail e-commerce sales. This year it’s expected to total over $83 billion and equal 10% of e-commerce sales.
Consumers like the convenience of click & collect, and since it’s free, they don’t have to worry about the added cost of paying for the shipping of merchandise. In fact:
- 75% of online shoppers have utilized in-store or curbside pickup at least once this year.
- 77% of online shoppers rated their in-store and/or curbside pickup experiences an 8 or higher out of 10 points.
BOPIS and curbside pickup offer some advantages to store owners too. You can monetize your existing retail footprint by fulfilling online orders, so it’s relatively easy (and inexpensive) to start—though you did need software showing your customers what’s available in-store.
Click & collect requires fewer resources than delivery, so, again, it can be quickly deployed.
Because this option is so popular with today’s shoppers, it’s expected to continue to be in demand long after the pandemic is over.