Catching up with category leader Home Depot, Lowe’s is rolling out lockers for ecommerce order pickup in the front of stores in the New York tri-state area, Philadelphia and Charlotte, NC, with plans to expand to all 1,729 U.S. stores by March 2021. Lockers will be added in Florida, Washington and Texas in the coming weeks.
This holiday season retailers will not only have to contend with decreased carrier capacity due to the pandemic but also the anticipated influx of mail-in election ballots – all of which could result in a “super peak” holiday nightmare for retailers. Now is the time to implement strategies to ensure they can keep up with demand.
The monumental shift to ecommerce is causing businesses to re-evaluate their fulfillment experience to make sure they get it right. At the heart of that process is understanding how to improve the status quo by putting the customer relationship front and center. The stakes are high, but those who get it right will see substantial growth.
As COVID-19 continues to impact the market, we’ve seen a massive shift toward ecommerce. The rise in contactless payment as a result of the coronavirus has been a key trend. Consumers are adopting options like mobile ordering and in-store pickup at an astonishing rate. Learn about best practices to address fraud risks.
Those who have embraced omnichannel retailing by allowing customers to do everything from browsing to payment on their personal device have found it much easier to adapt with tactics like BOPIS to ensure the safety and health of employees and shoppers. The current crisis will serve as a catalyst for long-term process changes.
A decision by the leadership team at jewelry retailer Kendra Scott to invest in an order management system ahead of last year’s peak season was a critical element enabling the company to quickly turn its fleet of stores into fulfillment centers and initiate curbside pickup, after shutting them down to the public due to COVID-19.
Driven by coronavirus impacts, U.S. ecommerce sales recently surged in a number of categories, with e-grocery sales doubling between March 13-15 compared to March 1-11, overall ecommerce sales rising 25% in the same comparison and BOPIS increasing 62% from a year ago, according to new data from Adobe Analytics.
Ulta Beauty saw ecommerce sales increase 20% to 30% during fiscal 2019 ending Feb. 1, 2020, aided by a store pickup rollout chain-wide, while also taking steps in store to address the growing coronavirus threat. Ulta also reduced hours of operation, is temporary closing some stores and discontinuing hair services in stores.
A seeming disconnect between fewer last-order promise dates and faster holiday delivery times is explained by the rising popularity of buy online, pickup in store, according to an annual survey from Kurt Salmon. This season, 53% of retailers didn’t offer a last order promise date to avoid disappointing customers.
With ecommerce expanding and consumers expecting greater speed and convenience, retailers need cost-effective ways to meet these demands. Here is a look at how automated lockers are key to the overall buy online pickup in-store experience.