BOPS could be especially important for both retailers and customers in future holiday shopping seasons
It’s no secret that retailers this holiday season were doing what they could to bring in last minute shoppers. Whether it was offering huge deals or free shipping for orders placed online, stores were busy this past week trying to win over the large amount of procrastinating holiday shoppers. In fact, according to Paula Rosenblum, brick-and-mortar sales took the backseat to online sales this year because of the many free shipping offers available for the holidays. She cites Custora’s e-commerce Pulse, revealing there was a 54 percent increase in last minute rush orders over the prior year, which, not surprisingly, left the UPS and FedEx feeling overwhelmed.
However, this year, more retailers were trying to help their customers avoid the problem of rush delivery and the uncertainty about receiving packages in time for the holiday. The solution: Buy online, pick up in store (BOPS) initiatives. This holiday season, a score of retailers, including Gap, Walmart, and Target, among others, began offering the service on all or select goods ordered online, making the shopping game even easier for customers looking to save time.
This addition to the omni-channel repertoire is certainly not a new idea — Sears was one of the first retailers to introduce it two years ago. This year, Sears has taken it a step further for customers. The company’s shoppers were able to order goods from a mobile app and receive their goods curbside without even leaving their cars. This fall, Gap piloted its “Reserve in Store” policy, which allowed customers to reserve an online item in the nearest store. Considering only half of customers had completed their holiday shopping by mid-December, this option was especially important for retailers this year to ensure both online and in-store business from customers.
While these initiatives are certainly convenient for the customer, they also have multiple perks for retailers. First, it saves retailers shipping costs while protecting them from disappointed customers complaining about not receiving orders in time — a problem that hit Kohl’s pretty hard this year. Second, BOPS service also draws more customers into stores, increasing the likelihood of their discovering new sales and last minute gift ideas. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, customers love it, so even if it doesn’t necessarily encourage any last-minute impulse buys, the customers will be more likely to come back again. According to a survey of online shoppers conducted by Reuters, more than 40 percent of people surveyed wanted this service available at their favorite stores this season.
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For retailers looking to further blur the lines between stores and online, this service provides the best of both worlds. As Bill Martin from ShopperTrak says, “You want your website to get people into your stores, and you want your stores to get people to shop on your website.” While it’s hard to say how these initiatives affected overall sales from the holiday, this service is more than likely going to be a holiday staple for an increasing number of retailers as the coming years.
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