DISCUSSION
Will 24/7 curbside service help Nordstrom pick up late Christmas sales?
Written by George Anderson
Photo: Nordstrom
Nordstrom is looking to give Santa (aka its customers) a little help as Christmas approaches by offering 24/7 curbside pickup at 10 stores across the country beginning on Dec. 16 and continuing through Christmas Eve morning.
While the department store chain already offers in-store and curbside pickup at its stores, the pilot is intended to give its customers more flexibility as time pressures mount. With 24/7 access, customers can pick up purchases during their early morning commute or perhaps after the little ones are in bed for the night.
"I think more than any other time of the year, the traditional store hours may not fit into our customer's lifestyle,'' Shea Jensen, Nordstrom's senior vice president of customer experience, told USA Today. "And so if we can find ways to lighten their load a bit during the busy season, we're happy to do that."
Customers placing online orders that want to use curbside service receive an email confirmation indicating the location outside the store where they can pick up their purchases. To complete the pickup, they send a text to a phone number given by the store at least 10 minutes in advance of their arrival. Sending a text with the word “gift” will get them a free gift-wrapping kit. When customers arrive, they will be greeted outside by a Nordstrom associate who will complete the transaction by checking their photo ID and card used to make the transaction before handing over the item(s) purchased.
Nordstrom has used services such as in-store and curbside pickup to drive online sales, which the company expects to exceed 25 percent of its total by the end of the year. During its second quarter earnings call in August, Blake Nordstrom, co-president of Nordstrom, Inc., told analysts that online revenues grew more than 20 percent year-over-year during its annual anniversary sales event. Buy online and pickup sales for the promotion increased around 50 percent.
The following are the stores participating in Nordstrom’s 24/7 curbside pickup pilot:
- South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa, CA)
- Fashion Valley (San Diego, CA)
- Valley Fair (San Jose, CA)
- Michigan Avenue (Chicago, IL)
- Oakbrook Center (Oak Brook, IL)
- The Westchester (White Plains, NY)
- NorthPark Center (Dallas, TX)
- Tysons Corner Center (Mclean, VA)
- Downtown Seattle (Seattle, WA)
- Bellevue Square (Bellevue, WA)