Staples has announced a series of enhancements to its omnichannel experience, including the ability to buy products online and pick them up in-store within hours, Visa Checkout for online payments, new in-store kiosks, and an app for iPad users.
“The recent updates will make it easier for customers to shop however and from wherever they want,” Faisal Masud, executive vice president, global ecommerce, Staples, said in a press release. “This is particularly important for businesses that are always on the go and can’t wait for a delivery or delay shopping until they are in front of a desktop.”
With Staples new buy online pick-up in-store feature, customers will be able to select a “pick up today” option as they view a product on Staples.com. Staples promises to have their order ready for pick up within two hours. Customers can also permanently set their preferred store location, and Staples.com will automatically show the inventory available at the three closest stores.
For products not sold in store, customers will still have the ability to ship their order to a store for pick up. Both the buy-online, pick-up in-store and ship to store options are free of charge.
Visa Checkout lets customers check-out online on any device, in just a few clicks by entering a Visa Checkout username and password. Shoppers can use any brand of credit card with Visa Checkout, which pre-populates their shipping information and is available on Staples.com and Staples mobile website.
Once enrolled, customers can then enter their username and password to complete purchases easily on any device, without ever having to leave Staples’ website. Staples first announced the availability of Visa Checkout on Staples.com in July, but it is now accessible through the retailer’s mobile sites.
Staples is also rolling out new touch screen in-store kiosks throughout its retail locations in the U.S. over the next several months. In addition to upgrading the technology to the existing kiosks, the company will reposition them in store to ensure shoppers have even easier access to the over one million products now available on Staples.com, with fast and free delivery when ordered through a kiosk
Staples has also announced the first iPad app in the company’s history. The app provides an easy-to-use tablet experience. Users can easily check and cash their Staples Rewards balance and reorder past purchases. Other features include direct access to Staples’ deals, product availability at the nearest store, faster search and quick navigation, customized viewing of search results, and the ability to narrow down search results by price, category and relevance.