Though Amazon’s dominance of ecommerce may bring about feelings of doom or gloom, many retailers do not realize the influence they have to capture buyers before they default to Amazon. The key to achieving success is through providing omnichannel options that the ecommerce behemoth can’t match.
Joining a growing group of retailers eager to match the heightened expectations of today’s shoppers and save on delivery costs, youth apparel seller rue21 has partnered with Mastek to offer buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) at its 700+ store locations. The rollout began in January and is expected to be completed by the end of March.
Free shipping for ecommerce orders is an increasingly high priority for U.S. consumers, who are also embracing buy online pickup in store, according to a new Consumer View report from the National Retail Federation. The report found that 75% of consumers expect free delivery even on orders under $50, up from 68% last year.
Retailers lowered the bar for Christmas season fulfillment, then easily cleared it, according to Kurt Salmon. Ninety-three percent of retailers tracked were able to process and deliver customer orders by the last guaranteed delivery date. But 33% of them ditched their last order promise date as Christmas approached.
Given all the attention paid to buy online pickup in store including its popularity with shoppers, only 28% of U.S. retailers currently offer the service, compared to 64% of British retailers providing its cousin, click and collect, according to a report from OrderDynamics. Retailers here were also found lagging in other categories.
Never content to rest on last week’s disruption, Amazon is now offering online order pickup at select Whole Foods Market stores, including curbside delivery, all for Prime members in an effort to boost membership and gain more territory in the escalating grocery wars.
Looking to provide a different experience for a key demographic group, Abercrombie & Fitch will open two smaller footprint stores next month near college campuses that will have an omnichannel focus and serve as test beds for future expansion.
A new study of shoppers ages 14-24 by Fluent Commerce found that young shoppers weren’t as eager for fulfillment immediacy as you’d think in the age of Amazon Prime and guaranteed two-day delivery, with most digital natives still good with hitting the stores. See what else matters to the next wave of consumers.
Although the demand for omnichannel services like buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) is rising, many retailers lack the processes and technology to effectively (and profitably) execute on it. Creating real-time connections between store associates and enterprise systems like OMS and inventory management is one solution.
Retailers have been turning to Buy Online, Deliver From Store (BODFS) to meet rising customer expectations. It’s a solution that optimizes last-mile delivery by shipping from a store or warehouse to the customer that same day.