Why BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup in Store) Could Be the Differentiator Your Online Store Needs
Buy Online, Pickup in Store is the ideal way for retailers to connect and enhance customers’ offline and online experiences. BOPIS, also known as click-and-collect, has particularly become popular in the last year since the lockdowns happened due to COVID-19. Now, more and more retailers are looking to utilize the BOPIS service.
How does BOPIS work?
The first thing you need to know about BOPIS is it can only be used if you have both a physical store and an online store. The concept of BOPIS is straightforward. Retailers who have both an online and physical storefront can use BOPIS as a shipping option at an online-checkout. Customers complete the checkout process as usual and choose to pick up their orders in-store. When the order is ready, the customers receive a notification telling them their orders are available to pick up any time that the store is open.
Products will usually already be in-store. Therefore, they can be made available for pick-up straight away. Other times, the products may need to be ordered, in which case customers will have to wait a few days until they can collect their items. Pick-up points are not always located in stores. Sometimes, customers can collect goods curbside in specifically designated parking spots. The exact methods you use will largely be dependent on the type of business you run and the size of your company. Read on to find out more about why BOPIS could be the differentiator your store needs.
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Convenience and Speed
One key reason why BOPIS has become so popular in recent years is that it offers advantages to both customers and retailers. Firstly, after years of declining sales for many brick-and-mortar retailers due to the rise in popularity of online shopping, retailers with physical stores and online stores can now use BOPIS to provide convenience and speed to their customers. That means, finally, smaller businesses can compete with giants like Amazon. When someone orders a product at a big online retailer like Amazon, he or she will usually have to wait days or even weeks for delivery. While some products can be delivered in 24 hours, BOPIS enables customers to get their products quicker. When items are already in stock, products can be collected within hours, and many stores are now providing the pick-up service within an hour of ordering.
Increased In-store Customers
One of the best advantages of BOPIS for retailers is it increases your in-store foot traffic. When customers go to your store to pick up their items, they are likely to look around the store. When they bought the item they are collecting online, they may not have looked at the rest of your online store or only browsed it quickly. Once customers are inside your store, they are more likely to see other items they want or need and make an additional purchase. In fact, a 2017 study showed a whopping 90% of BOPIS shoppers over the holiday shopping season bought additional items once they were inside a store.
Certainty
Although online shopping is quick and easy, there is always that worry that your product may not arrive. Even though delivery firms are using ever more sophisticated methods of tracking packages and proof of delivery, items still go missing from time to time, and sometimes packages are stolen from doorsteps. So, by going to the store to pick up a purchased product, customers will have peace of mind that the item is secure and will definitely be in their hands. That certainty does not come with other online shopping options. Along with the reasons outlined above, that is why you can use BOPIS to differentiate from online leaders like Amazon. Both your business and your customers will reap the benefits.
