Simply put, BOPIS is the acronym that stands for “Buy Online Pick-up in Store”. This method of fulfillment, while not a new concept, has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, BOPIS use grew by 106% - and accounted for close to 10% of all ecommerce sales in the US that year. Now, BOPIS sales are expected to reach $150 million by 2025.
The rise of BOPIS is not a total surprise. Modern shoppers are becoming busier. They don’t always have the time to browse in-stores and wait in line. As a result, they not only want, but have come to expect, the convenience of shopping anywhere and anytime. BOPIS is allowing retailers to meet, and surpass, these needs in order to remain competitive - for this reason, it is fast becoming a key part of retail omnichannel strategies.
BOPIS offer customers something they have come to expect in a post-pandemic world; convenience and flexibility. This means more flexibility of choice in not only when, but how orders are fulfilled.
There are normally two main ways a BOPIS order can be processed; Buy Online, Ship From Store (BOSFS) and Buy Online, Ship to Store (BOSS).
BOSFS allows retailers and brands to opt to have customer orders fulfilled from a local store for added speed and convenience. Here, customers shopping on either the web or via mobile app, select their preferred items and proceed to the checkout. A store associate then receives a notification to pick and pack and item from the store inventory holding and the item is then shipped by the store associate to the customer.
BOSS works similarly only retailers and brands can also tap into warehouse inventories to fulfill orders directly from warehouses or distribution centers. The order is then shipped to the designated store for the customer to collect.
Alongside BOPIS, retailers can also leverage other closely related capabilities that work in a similar way. These include:
In all of these cases, retailers are doing one main thing: offering customers a seamless bridge between online and brick-and-mortar channels. This lets them experience the advantages of in-store shopping while simultaneously benefiting from the convenience of online retail.
In practice, BOPIS should be a frictionless experience for both the shopper and the store associates fulfilling the order. With a solution like the PredictSpring Modern POS, the process should look similar to the following:
BOPIS has a number of potential benefits for customers and retailers alike. Let’s take a look at some of them below.
With 70% of customers stating that BOPIS has improved their shopping experiences, it is no surprise that it has become so popular amongst shoppers. But, how can it help retailers?
BOPIS has had one significant impact on online retail - an increase in sales. With delivery fees increasing, picking up in store is now the most cost effective fulfillment method for a lot of customers. This coupled with the added convenience and being able to collect an order on the day of your choice (even the same day as the order was placed in some cases) means BOPIS has become an almost must-have option for a lot of retailers. So much so that BOPIS has now reached 82% market penetration amongst the top 500 retail chains.
Ultimately, the benefits of BOPIS for online retail can be broken down into five main points:
Not only does the attraction of BOPIS as a fulfillment option mean customers are more likely to proceed with an online purchase, but increased in-store traffic during order collection also improves the chances of additional purchases.
BOPIS is a much faster fulfillment method in a lot of cases. For need-it-now items, customers can order online for pickup within the same day.
Customers will oftentimes abandon their carts for one of two reasons; delivery costs or delivery times. Buy Online, Pick-up In-store enables customers to bypass these considerations - and cart abandonment rates decrease as a result.
Retailers can ultimately save on some of the labor costs associated with fulfilling from a distribution center to a customer’s own doorstep by completing BOPIS orders using in-store inventory.
It is clear that BOPIS offers remarkable opportunities to drive additional sales as a customer enters the store to collect their order. The right fulfillment system can make the difference between success and setback. PredictSpring offers a fast, convenient and robust solution for retailers and brands looking to offer BOPIS and other fulfillment capabilities.
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