Photo: Target
According to a test of 137 retailers on Black Friday, the average processing time for BOPIS orders was 2.5 hours and 85 percent of orders were fulfilled with no issues. That marks a significant improvement from last year’s results: 3.6 hours and 65 percent.
The average in-store wait time for pickup was four minutes, according to the study from Kurt Salmon.
“Historically BOPIS was a difficult transaction for the customer, whereas now retailers have built ease and convenience into the experience by placing kiosks at the front of the store and allocating parking spaces,” said Steve Osburn, managing director at Kurt Salmon, in a statement. “We are seeing many retailers honing their competitive agility and excelling in terms of speed, visibility into inventory and the ability to fulfil last minute orders.”
The improvement is more impressive given that BOPIS use is exploding. According to Adobe Analytics, BOPIS orders are up 47 percent so far this holiday season, similar to gains seen through the entire season last year.
Surveys show the two primary BOPIS consumer drivers are getting product sooner than delivery by mail and saving money on shipping costs.
For retailers, the instant gratification from seamless in-store pick-up is a major competitive advantage to online selling. BOPIS activity is expected to particularly pay off during the holiday season’s final days.
A major secondary benefit is the fact that the majority of shoppers who pick up make additional purchases in store.
A Signifyd study from last year found 83 percent of retailers indicating that BOPIS orders accounted for at least 20 percent of online revenue. At Home Depot and Michael Stores, BOPIS makes up more than 40 percent of online sales.
Kurt Salmon’s findings suggest investments in pickup counters, curbside pickup, lockers and dedicated parking spots are paying off, while inventory optimization and in-store execution also appears to be making progress. According to the Signifyd study, 45.6 percent of retailers identified logistics and inventory tracking as the biggest challenge to managing BOPIS, followed by training and managing store workers, 22.4 percent; and fraud and customer information security, 16.1 percent.
- Fastest retailers fulfill orders in fewer than 2 days – Retail Dive
- There’s never been this kind of surge in last-minute shoppers picking up online orders – CNBC
- Holiday Analysis Shows Retailers Have Improved BOPIS and Shipping Performance – Footwear News
- Most BOPIS shoppers make additional purchases in store – Retail Dive
- Research: 2019 Holiday Shopping Trends – Commercehub
- Buy-Online-Pick-Up-In-Store (BOPIS) – Signifyd