The back-to-school period is the second-busiest shopping season of the year, topped only by the holiday rush, leaving retailers scrambling to make the most of the opportunity. To attract today's increasingly convenience-minded consumers, many are touting their "buy online, pick up in store" (BOPIS) services. The tactic appears to be working: The BOPIS option now accounts for nearly 30 percent of online retail revenue, according to automated locker system provider Package Concierge.
As students and parents stock up on clothes, books, backpacks, computers, and other cool school tools, Package Concierge is sharing some tips to help retailers boost their BOPIS sales. They include:
- Allow customers to view store-level inventory when making an item selection. Shoppers today want their merchandise ASAP, and many will only consider items that are currently in stock. If they're unable to determine whether an item is in stock, shoppers will go elsewhere to find it.
- Make the BOPIS process convenient and quick. BOPIS falls short if shoppers have to wait more than a couple of hours for an order to be assembled or stand in line to retrieve their merchandise.
- Provide a simple and secure fulfillment method. Perhaps not surprisingly, the company points to locker systems as an example of a secure fulfillment method. In stores equipped with lockers like Package Concierge's, customers purchase items online and receive a secure authentication code via e-mail or text when the order is ready for pickup. Once at the store, consumers simply scan their code at the locker and retrieve their items.
