Liquidity Services Hebron KY facility feature

Liquidity Services Opens Second Pickup Spot in Cincinnati

| Mike O'Brien

Liquidity Services, a major marketplace for returned and overstock merchandise, has opened a second AllSurplus Deals location at its facility in Hebron, KY, allowing local consumers to purchase deals online, then pick them up at its warehouse. The first opened in Phoenix in 1999, and plans call for more facilities to add pick-up services.

grocery lady scanning phone in aisle feature

How Grocery Can Survive Uberization

| Madeline Aufseeser

Perhaps the biggest competitive advantages delivery services have over traditional grocery is sourcing and convenience. So, what can traditional grocers do to stop their lunch being eaten? Continue to innovate your channels with products, services and tools that help customers get the most from their in-store experiences.

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.

E-Grocery Sales Down 3.8% in April, Dogged by Inflation

| Mike O'Brien

E-grocery sales in April fell 3.8% to $8.1 billion, while order volume was down 5.8% as nagging inflation and the ongoing return to stores hit both order frequency and the number of active online users, according Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. The sector has been giving back some of the the healthy gains it saw in 2020 and 2021.

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.

Target curbside pickup

Target Rolling Out Curbside Returns This Fall

| Mike O'Brien

Do you want a latte with that toy your kid didn’t like? Target said it is offering curbside returns in select markets starting this fall, as well as the opportunity to grab a Starbucks beverage while you’re at it. The red target retailer said customers can use the Target app to set up a curbside return and/or grab a caffeinated drink.

e-grocery bin

E-Grocery Performance Drops for Conventional Grocers

| Mike O'Brien

Conventional grocers saw a nearly 7% drop in e-grocery sales on a same-store basis during the 12 weeks ending Sept. 28, 2021, according to a new report from Brick Meets Click, due to a 3.1% decrease in orders combined with AOV dropping nearly 4% as the pandemic effect lessened.

curbside pickup Mall of America feature

Curbside Pickup Goes Mall-Wide This Holiday Season

| Mike O'Brien

While Happy Returns has solved for the efficient consolidation of ecommerce returns at its growing network of mall-based returns bars, a new joint solution from BlueDot and Adeptmind aims to take the same approach on the purchase end by consolidating curbside pickup at U.S. malls. BlueDot’s CMO explains how it works.

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.