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September 16, 2025
How Fast Should In-Store Pickup Turnaround Be?
Office Depot has raised its own bar for free in-store and curbside pickup delivery with the launch of a “15 Minute Pickup Promise.”
If the order isn’t ready in 15 minutes at their local Office Depot and OfficeMax location, the customer will receive a $15 coupon for their next qualifying purchase within 72 hours. The program replaces a similar “20 Minute Pickup Promise” introduced in 2021.
Office Depot described the updated promise as “far outpacing its competitors,” and said it complements its other efforts around speedy service, including same-day delivery for $4.99, and select print and copy services available for same-day pickup.
“At Office Depot, we’re committed to providing the fastest and easiest shopping experience in the nation for our customers, whether they’re wrapping up back-to-school lists or running their own small business,” said Kevin Moffitt, president of Office Depot.
Pickup Turnaround a Selling Point for Many Competitors
Among other larger sellers of office supplies:
- Staples offers free in-store and curbside pickup within an hour.
- Walgreens offers free in-store pickup within 30 minutes, as well as free one-hour delivery.
- CVS offers free in-store pickup “in as little as one hour.”
- Walmart doesn’t make any estimates on turnaround time for in-store pickup, and charges a $6.99 pick-up fee for orders under $35, with those above free.
- Target offers free in-store and curbside pickup. Target states orders “will usually be ready within 2 hours of placing your order,” although “select stores may take up to 6 hours to have your order ready.”
- Best Buy offers free in-store and curbside within an hour.
- Costco only offers free in-store pickup for pricier items, such as laptops or jewelry.
- Sam’s Club offers free curbside pickup for all in-store products, including recently adding “hot baked pizza.” The warehouse club makes no estimates on turnaround time.
Office Depot was the only chain offering a guarantee for pick-up time turnaround.
Beyond how quick orders are prepared, another time-related issue with in-store pickup is how long the customer has to wait after arriving at the location to receive their pick-up.
According the Rakuten Ready 2020 Time Study based on observations from May to August 2020 amid the chaos of the pandemic, the shortest wait time after a customer arrives for their order pickup was at QSRs, 3:10; followed by casual dining restaurants, 4.11; retailers, 4:39; and grocery, 5:07.
Discussion Questions
Is the ’15 Minute Pickup Promise’ much of a competitive advantage for Office Depot?
What should the expectation be turnaround time?
Are there bigger customer pain points around in-store or curbside pickup?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Brad Halverson
Principal, Clearbrand CX
Verlin Youd
SVP Americas, Ariadne
Gary Sankary
Retail Industry Strategy, Esri
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How fast store collection actually needs to be depends on the customer use case. However, as a general rule, customers expect pick-up orders to be available quickly, even if they don’t need items immediately. In other words, they want retailers to do the work fast so they have the option of collection as and when they wish. However, this also varies by category: grocery shoppers are happier to be given a collection window, whereas for general merchandise, people like more flexibility.
I believe this answer is multi-faceted. On one hand, the majority of shoppers would be happy picking up their office items after work, and thus have no need for such an expedited window. However, I do believe that this speedy picking may give Office Depot an advantage, as there is a subset of workers who will likely need an item asap to help them complete their job, and thus they would be willing to pay a premium for this service.
The key to in-store/curbside pick up is underpromise and overdeliver. If Office Depot can execute on their promise within 15 minutes, they’ve hit the sweet spot. Paper, printer ink and other depleted office items aren’t planned for, and so work up time is of the essence. If it takes an average customer 12-25 minutes to get to the nearest Office Depot, it’s likely a 15 minute window serves the vast majority of shoppers.
The biggest pain point customers could face is arriving at Office Depot when the pick-up counter is empty, funneling them back into a checkout lane, which creates more steps and stress they weren’t told about when making the order online. So labor to support the program is a must.
To state the obvious: it’s an advantage only if it’s actually met; and even then this stikes me as rather silly. Sales satisfaction – be it in-store,
onlineBOPIS, delivered – rests on a number of things – price, “quality” (how closely one’s needs are met), timeliness – and fulfilling some of these attributes often comes at the expense of the other(s). It’s a mistake to try and give a one dimensional answer to a question like “how fast?”Not every customer will need their order in 15 minutes, but for anyone in a rush, that could be the reason they pick Office Depot over a competitor. If they can pull off a 15 minute turnaround on orders, it’s a clear differentiator for urgent needs. That said, one of the bigger pain points isn’t how fast the order is ready – it’s what happens when the customer gets there. If they have to call or enter the store to pick up their BOPIS order, it imposes an analog last mile on someone who opted for a digital experience. Making that handoff seamless can be just as important as the promised turnaround time.
Quick answers: 1) Yes, the 15-minute pickup will be a competitive differentiator for Office Depot vs Staples, Fedex, and others, until they deliver on the same promise. Competition ultimately makes everyone better. 2) Turnaround time should be related to the challenge of picking and delivering that particular merchandise, maybe 15 minutes for common office supplies, 30 minutes for small grocery order, 60 minutes for large grocery order, 120 minutes for home improvement materials. 3) There are indeed bigger customer pain points around in-store and curbside pickup. Turnaround time means very little if the order delivered is incorrect, incomplete, or as has been too often the case for me, not even picked when I’ve received notice it is ready. Additionally, how substitutions are handled can have a huge impact and is an area where additional innovation is needed.
Different customers situations require different urgency. To the extent that Office Depot wants to be responsive to the most demanding of situations, it must ensure that it can dedicate staff to process 15-minute orders. If they can prove that they have sufficient 15-minute orders to justify the staff, good for them. If not, they are wasting money somewhere, or they are forsaking other tasks that also need to be performed.
Brilliant move by Office Depot to compete not just on speed, but on certainty. The company is delivering a specific timeframe AND a guarantee with teeth. When they occasionally miss the 15-minute window, the swift recovery actually generates greater loyalty than meeting the promise would have. If successful, Office Depot will reshape customer expectations for operational execution that differentiates commoditized categories.
I don’t think 15 minutes or one hour is a competitive difference unless customers want, demand, or expect it. The simple way to know is to ask customers. Some may think 15 minutes is too long. Others might think two hours is reasonable. So, ask your questions and make your promises accordingly.
As many have pointed out, there isn’t a single correct answer here. This perk is expensive to deliver, and retailers should be mindful of how they manage customer expectations. For Office Depot, I would expect the store’s location to be a significant factor in determining its importance. Is the store in the heart of a downtown business district? This would be a differentiator. For a store in a suburban strip mall, I suspect not so much. In the suburbs, a convenience store or grocer offering 15-minute pick up for high-turn items might be interesting for their customers. This might be something for retailers to think about offering during certain times of the year. Snacks during football season, food, wrapping paper, and gift items during the holidays.
My point, to echo what’s been said, let the demand and value drive the decision.
Office Depot’s “15-Minute Pickup Promise” is a smart differentiator—if they can deliver it consistently. Most retailers offering in-store or curbside pickup operate on one-hour windows, so a guarantee this fast stands out, especially for customers in urgent need of office supplies. The added assurance of a $15 coupon if they miss the mark gives the promise credibility.
That said, the real competitive edge isn’t just about speed. Execution matters. Inventory accuracy, staffing, and store processes all have to align to make 15 minutes realistic. Customers also care just as much about the experience once they arrive—clear communication, signage, and accurate orders often matter more than shaving a few minutes off fulfillment.
In my view, the 15-minute window will raise expectations, but a reliable 30-minute turnaround paired with a smooth, accurate, and convenient pickup experience may be the more sustainable benchmark for retailers broadly. Speed matters, but solving the bigger pain points of order accuracy and ease of pickup is what ultimately wins loyalty.
The 15 minute turnaround should be a benefit to larger business customers where getting essential office supplies is important. Either as a membership perk or as a perk for large volume accounts.
Work from home or small businesses might be interested in becoming members to unlock such a perk. A membership would capture more of their office supply business.
Seems wasted as a global offering. Make it a targeted offering that aligns with customers where fast turnaround is a high value.
If I need something from an office supply store, it might be ink or something else time sensitive, so this 15-minute promise might be relevant and important. There is also the issue of how long a shopper must wait once they get to the store. In grocery, we asked this question in a recent study and found 24% had no wait, 26% less than 3 minutes, 35% waited 3-5 minutes, and 14% waited more than 5 minutes.