e-grocery phone in aisle feature

E-Grocery Sales Down, But Pandemic Gains Stay Sticky

| Mike O'Brien

E-grocery sales were down both sequentially and year-over-year in January, driven mostly by declines in the ship-to-home category, but gains from pre-pandemic levels have mostly held even though delivery options have been impacted by inflation, according to a Brick Meets Click/Mercatus report.

curbside pickup sign feature

Curbside Pickup Can Now Include Impulse Purchases

| Mike O'Brien

A new tool allows retailers to offer impulse, add-on products to a curbside pickup order, in similar fashion to a physical checkout line, creating an opportunity to recapture lost purchases as BOPIS adoption continues to grow. The tool, called Curb Up, is a collaboration between Canadian firms Bold Commerce and ecommerce agency Knit.

omnichannel store associate feature

Omnichannel Optimization: Automate Store Operations

| Gary Stonell

As the role of the store shifts to meet the needs of omnichannel shoppers, retailers must also evolve to ensure efficient and productive task execution. Make the most out of your omnichannel strategy by automating store operations with digital management processes, exceeding expectations and improving communications.

Verizon lockers

Verizon Rolls Out Pickup Lockers

| Mike O'Brien

To the ubiquitous BOPIS, Verizon is now adding BOPIL, aka buy online, pickup at locker, at 250 of its retail locations, to add a layer of convenience and checkout option for its customers, citing consumer data showing consumer interest is growing. Some locations provide 24-hour access, and more lockers are being added monthly.

ecommerce BOPIS illustration

The Fifth Wave of Ecommerce

| Frank Garcia

The challenge being laid today is to understand that in-store fulfillment is a workaround, not a scalable solution, for retailers penetrating further into ecommerce. If your physical shoppers have a bad experience because of technological processes you’ve enabled, you have failed them in the overall customer journey.

BOPA store illustration feature

BOPA a Growing Option for Consumers

| Mike O'Brien

Nearly one in five American consumers prefer the more convenient option of buy online, pickup anywhere or BOPA vs. showing up at a retailer’s stores in an area, if it’s offered at checkout, according to a new study from Via.Delivery. The study was based on thousands of ecommerce transactions in Q4 2021.

Via.delivery map feature

Startup Via.Delivery Brings BOPIS to SMBs in the U.S.

| Mike O'Brien

Via.Delivery, a startup platform offering the power of buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) to smaller retail and ecommerce businesses, has expanded beyond its Russian roots with a launch here that features 21,000+ pickup locations at pharmacies, convenience marts and grocery stores.

bed bath & beyond storefront

Bed Bath & Beyond Doubles Same-Day Footprint with Roadie

| Mike O'Brien

Seeing greater demand from customers for immediate fulfillment of ecommerce orders, Bath Bath & Beyond is expanding its same-day delivery to 700 stores covering nearly 16,000 ZIP codes, a near doubling, through a partnership with Roadie. The retailer is also allowing customers to pick up online orders curbside as early as 8 a.m.

Pitney Bowes smart lockers feature

Pitney Bowes Expands Smart Lockers Program

| Mike O'Brien

Pitney Bowes is rolling out a new series of smart lockers that can be used either in office or apartment buildings, college campuses or retail stores that can be configured to use as parcel boxes for individuals to send and receive items, or for picking up ecommerce orders and processing returns.