Ecommerce shopping is increasingly becoming popular than purely brick-and-mortar shopping for several reasons. Flexibility and convince to the shopper is one of the reasons why shoppers are turning to online shopping. What if you combine the two?
Some argue that Buy Online Pick up In Store is a hybrid version of online and brick-and-mortar shopping and is becoming very popular among shoppers. According to Invespcro, 67% of US shoppers have used BOPIS and 76% of them say they are likely to make an additional purchase while using BOPIS. No wonder, even giant brands like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Staples are working hard to implement Buy Online, Pick up In Store.
This model of shipping results in more rapid and cost-effective fulfillment compared to purely shipping items. From the business point of view, customers who come to the store to pick their items are likely to end up making additional impulse purchases 46% of the time. This scenario is not likely to happen when it comes to purely online checkout system. That is why it is critical that retailers embrace the BOPIS model.
Majority of retailers plan to implement BOPIS in the coming years
With the sole purpose of creating a seamless shopping experience for customers, the flexibility to pick up items in the store is one of the most transformational experiences to consumers. According to research by PricewaterCoopers, 80% of consumers first research their products or brands online before making the actual purchase at the store. On the other hand, 75% of consumers still think it is safe to buy products from the physical brick-and-mortar shop. It is at the intersection of these two interests that BOPIS is born. In essence, there is nothing preventing BOPIS from taking the lead. In fact, 90% of retailers have plans to implement BOPIS in the coming years.
Reasons why consumers prefer BOPIS
Some of the reasons why a majority of consumers prefer a BOPIS model of shopping include the following:
- BOPIS offers consumers increased choice. Shopping online and picking up purchases at the store offers more flexibility and choice than physically going to a store to browse items.
- Decrease shipping costs is another reason consumers would prefer BOPIS. Sometimes simply walking into the store to pick your item reduces shipping costs and saves time. This is without forgetting the risks of items getting destroyed during shipping.
- Increases convenience to consumers. Consumers have the flexibility to buy something they like as they visit the store to pick up items.
- BOPIS models report fewer product returns because it gives the consumer the opportunity to returns items they don’t like on the spot.
If you are a retailer and you want BOPIS to work, you will need to invest time and money in a real-time inventory management system that will make it easy for buyers to find items they bought online still in the store. Otherwise, it would become incredibly difficult for retailers to keep up with the BOPIS pace.