The sale no longer ends with the sale. Fortunately, there are fail-safe ways to improve the post-purchase experience! Here you’ll learn how your eCommerce business can benefit from implementing BOPAC and BOPIS retail best practices.
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In-store & Curbside Pickup options make the shopping experience much more convenient and comfortable for everyone.
Why? By simply adding two extra delivery methods of order fulfillment to get your products to your customers, who can now buy online on your eCommerce website and pick everything up from your physical store or curbside location!
The BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store) order fulfillment method is a popular choice for retailers who want to offer their customers the best of both worlds – the convenience of online shopping with the immediacy of in-store pickup.
This type of click-and-collect service helps retailers meet customer expectations, becoming increasingly popular these past several years as customers have become more accustomed to shopping online and looking for ways to avoid the hassle of shipping and delivery times.
Customers buy online anything from electronics and apparel items to personal care products and groceries and then pick them up at their convenience at any retail stores offering this type of service.
As a matter of fact, in this ongoing pandemic environment, eCommerce businesses and retailers across the globe coordinate their efforts in the direction of adopting both BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In-Store) & BOPAC (Buy Online Pickup at Curbside) post-purchase strategies to satisfy online customers.
If a while back nobody could see that the entire post-purchase would expand in so many directions, however, today all major retailers compete to deliver their customers the finest experience when it comes to ordering processing time, in-store pickup, and curbside pickup.
Time is money for shoppers and businesses alike, and the past year made clear that having an omnichannel shopping system really makes the difference. The Buy Online Pickup In-store (BOPIS) and Buy Online Pickup at Curbside (BOPAC) services are becoming more popular with retailers. The best way to understand both BOPAC and BOPIS is by looking at them from a customer’s perspective.
Buy Online, Pickup At Curbside (BOPAC) is a convenient way to shop for customers who want to avoid the crowds at the local store. They can place orders online and just wait for a confirmation notification to pick up their order at a brick and mortar location, without leaving their vehicle or having to enter the store.
This service is becoming increasingly popular as people look for ways to social distance during the pandemic. BOPAC is also a great option for retailers who ship items from a distribution center or warehouse but don’t have a physical store for customers.
Put yourself in the shoes of your customers— Imagine you see something online that you truly want. Like, right now. The safest and fastest way to get it is by purchasing it online and picking it up in-store the exact same day. This way, both retailers and customers avoid costly shipping and delivery fees while removing any hesitation at checkout. This is particularly important since 49% of people abandon their shopping cart because extra costs (i.e., shipping fees) at checkout were too high (source).
What about those customers who prefer not to get into contact with your staff, especially during these special circumstances?
This is where curbside pickup comes into play: they can order the item online and you deliver everything to a pickup point to create a completely contactless experience. Transportation costs less, and your customer is much happier with the outcome!
In-store pickup enables you to drive more foot traffic whereas curbside pickup helps you create the contactless experience so many of your customers have been long dreaming of— you get to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Online shoppers can be challenging to satisfy, but there’s one thing you can’t get wrong: offering multiple shipping options, including in-store pickup for those who have little patience or who want an expert opinion from your staff when picking up the item. Besides, by bringing people to your brick-and-mortar stores to pick up their online orders, you’ll also increase the number of in-store sales.
If you want to create a memorable experience for your customers choosing BOPIS, all you have to do is to allow them to choose your brick-and-mortar store to pick up their order from and proactively send them notifications to let them know when they can receive their package in-store.
‘’Curbside pickup should not be seen as just a niche trend to sustain retail operations during the height of COVID-19. Adobe Analytics reports that curbside surged 208% in the first three weeks in April compared to the year before. With that in mind, it’s important to think about BOPAC beyond the behind-the-scenes logistics and carefully create the best possible customer experience to maximize what should be an incredibly impactful yet short and sweet interaction.’’ – Retail Customer Experience
While the Buy Online Pickup In-Store & Curbside Pickup functionality has quickly started to be considered a customer expectation and major retailers adopt such eCommerce strategies to stay on the wave, the truth is that some are still far from offering a happy post-purchase experience.
For conventional retailers that stick to old-fashioned shipping methods, it’ll be just harder and harder to catch up with new trends and approaches. The mindset that customers will always be there doesn’t really help these days, as now it’s easier than ever to lose your customer’s loyalty. As easy as a click away!
But who wants a one-time customer instead of repeat purchases when the digital environment is so growing so fast? 2023 is the perfect timing for building and maintaining your brand loyalty!
It seems that ‘’Retailers are accelerating the move to “phygital” — the digitization of the in-store experience. By 2021, 90% of retailers will offer Buy Online/Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS), and 75% will be able to identify specific customers in the store and have the ability to customize their visits.’’ – Retail TouchPoints
For brands that have already implemented the latest SaaS features in terms of In-Store and Curbside Pickup, the results are jaw-dropping!
In fact, according to DigitalCommerce360, “Curbside pickup sales, which Target terms Drive Up, grew 600% year over year. Online orders picked up at stores jumped 70% from 2019.” So how cool is that?
As the number of orders placed online increased a lot over the past year, this new trend tells us that most customers prefer to shop online from home enjoying all those extra delivery methods. They can choose if they want to pick up their orders inside a specific store, at curbside pickup, or simply shipped them to home.
To help you meet your customers’ expectations and needs, WeSupply brings all orders regardless of whether it’s placed online or in-store in one centralized location. This will help your customers and store associates decrease the proof of purchase issues, making the shopping experience more convenient for everyone.
We identified the pain points of today’s online shopping and created a centralized place where all store associates can easily track and see all orders that were requested to be picked up at curbside. We connected Magento MSI to WeSupply and your team can work more efficiently and organized.
Online shopping has never been more convenient! Customers can purchase online your products and pick them up in your physical retail store or curbside point saving you some of the shipping costs: you’ll be able to send more items to a single location, reducing the amount spent on transportation to different addresses. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
WeSupply will notify your customers via email and SMS as soon as the order is ready to be picked up. Detailed instructions will include pickup location, directions, and instructions. The customer will just simply head to the guest service and verify a one-time PIN code for pickup. As simple as that!
When it comes to shopping, convenience is key. That’s why online shopping has become so popular in recent years. Consumers can purchase goods from the comfort of their homes without having to deal with long lines and crowded spaces.
However, as customer expectations continue to rise, stores are looking for new ways to increase the level of convenience and meet their customers halfway. One such method is offering in-store and curbside pickup services.
That way, consumers can place their orders online and then simply drive to the store to pick up the order, often without even having to leave their cars. In today’s fast-paced world, this level of convenience is hard to beat, and WeSupply is here to help you make the most out of it! 
Learn more about how you can easily set up the In-Store Pickup functionality into WeSupply
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