Retailers are looking for various strategies and options to drive more traffic and sales amid the pandemic outbreak. One such strategy which has accelerated its growth due to COVID-19 is BOPIS – buy online pick up in-store. To meet customers’ expectations, retailers are adopting this new model which allows customers to buy online and pick up the order at the physical store at their convenience. This will help retailers to attract more customers to their brick-and-mortar stores and bridge the gap between online and offline shopping experiences.
As every business is trying to add this “buy-online-pickup-in-store” strategy to their omnichannel retail strategy, it’s important to understand what BOPIS stands for, what benefits it offers, how it works, and why customers should choose BOPIS?
In this post, we’ll try to cover all of these topics along with the difference between pickup and curbside.
What is BOPIS in retail?
BOPIS stands for Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store. This BOPIS strategy also refers to curbside pickup, click and collect. BOPIS is one of the best retail sales strategies that got popular after the pandemic as it allows shoppers to buy online products and pick up the order on their own once the order is ready.
Retailers who have both an online and physical store are taking the most advantage of this eCommerce functionality as it makes the shopping process more convenient for customers. That way, customers can save money on shipping and no need to wait for a long time for their order to be delivered.
This strategy works best for the retailers because it helps them to optimize the omnichannel retail experience.
How does BOPIS work?
Online buyers are always looking for flexible and easy order fulfillment processes. BOPIS is one of those easiest methods customers are preferring. So instead of waiting for a few days or more to get an order delivered, they can pick the order in a few hours after placing the order online once the store owner sends a notification that the order is ready to pick up.
Here’s how the BOPIS model work:
- Customers can make an online purchase by sitting at home or from anywhere using the mobile application or website easily.
- The store owner fulfills the online order by arranging the product stock at a nearby store and then sending a notification to the customer about the product availability.
- Once a product is packed and ready for pick up, customers can visit in-store to pick up their orders.
Buy online, pick up in-store statistics
Let’s have a look at some of the stats that prove the massive growth of the BOPIS shopping experience.
- 83% of consumers have used purchased online products and picked them up at the store in 2019 as per Statista reports.
- 63% of shoppers use the BOPIS service a few times a year.
- 67% of shoppers add additional items while picking up their original order from the store.
- 38% of retailers surveyed said that BOPIS was the key reason to bring shoppers into the store.
- 48% of customers who used the BOPIS service said that they have used this option because of zero shipping cost.
Magento 2 store owners can scale their online business and make their online eCommerce store more advanced using Magento 2 Store Pickup. Store owners are allowed to add multiple stores to their website and allow their customers to choose their nearest store from the checkout page to pick their order as per their convenience. This will improve the customer’s shopping experience and also boost in-store sales and conversion rates too.
What’s the Difference between Pickup and Curbside?
Click and collect consists of 2 ways: Curbside and BOPIS. Curbside pickup is a service where customers can make an online order and once the order is ready for pickup, they can park their vehicle at a designated area near the local store. Store associates will pick the order from the store and bring it out to the customers’ vehicle. While BOPIS is where customers can buy online and visit in-store to pick up their orders. During their visit, they can also make the purchase of other products if they like.
Here’s the key difference between BOPIS and Curbside pickup:
| Pickup | Curbside | |
| Boost Safety with Social Distancing | Yes | Yes |
| Reduce Last-Mile Cost | Yes | Yes |
| Labor Cost | Minimal | Sustainable |
| Contactless Returns | Returns can be processed immediately | Sustainable Wait times |
| Encourage Impulse purchase | 67% of customers make an incremental purchase | No |
| Sales Impact & Customer Loyalty | Customer 4x more likely to purchase again if the wait is less | 2X sales increase |
Why do customers choose BOPIS?
Below are a few of the reasons why customers choose the BOPIS option at checkout:
- Zero Shipping Cost: Unless free shipping is offered to customers on online orders, it can be more expensive for the customers to have their orders shipped to their doorstep. But with the BOPIS service, customers can pick their orders from the nearest store location and this can be both time and money-saving for them.
- Speedy Service: Instead of waiting to get orders delivered in the next 3 to 4 days, customers who are in need of a product on an urgent basis can make an online purchase and pick it up on the same day.
- Confirm the product availability: Before notifying the customer that their order is ready for pickup, the store owner can pack the order which makes it 100% sure that the product is available on the customer’s arrival.
Benefits of BOPIS
Let’s look at the list of benefits offered by BOPIS to retail store owners:
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Increase store sales and drive more traffic:
There are chances that customers look around and search for other products at your store during their visit to your store to pick their order. They might find something they like and wish to buy and spend more money at your offline store. Over 50% of online buyers use the BOPIS service as per the ICSC survey and 67% out of these shoppers buy additional products while picking up their original order.
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Lower Shipping Cost:
Shipping products from the warehouse to the doorstep of customers can be expensive for retail store owners. Packaging and labor charges add up more cost. So if customers pick up their order on their own from the offline store it will help you to save on the last mile shipping costs.
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Improved Inventory Management:
If as a retailer, you have decided to offer BOPIS service then it’s very important to get real-time updates of your stock and inventory. Make sure you track and manage your offline and online inventory to fulfill customer orders easily. This gives you more control and access over a huge assortment of inventory. Also, it gives you better insights into your inventory about what products are in stock.
Final Word:
In maintaining a competitive edge, it is important to keep an eye on the latest retail technologies and innovations. While COVID-19, BOPIS service has seen massive growth which is why retailers are now adopting the BOPIS buy-online, pick-up-in-store model. Even online shoppers continuously crave convenience, so if you are also one of those merchants who have an online presence along with a brick and mortar store but not offering the BOPIS service yet. Then it’s high time you should think about it and start looking into it.
