Which way to curbside pickup? Given that the last mile delivery of e-commerce orders is a costly fulfillment option for retailers, many are encouraging customers to drive in to get their goods, commonly known as Buy Online-Pickup In-Store (BOPIS). Many grocery stores have set up reserved lanes, parking spaces, and lockers to accommodate the process.
Consumers save on delivery fees and usually get faster service. Reports indicate that there’s about a 50-50 split between delivery and pickup of online orders. But it remains to be seen what mix of fulfillment choices consumers will choose post-pandemic. Many have found home delivery to be convenient and worth the fees especially in cold weather and high traffic conditions.
Meanwhile, third-party delivery companies have invested a lot in their systems and driver network, so they will remain an option for merchants that look to satisfy the online shopping preferences of their customers. An approximate even-share split between delivery and curbside pickup should be the norm for online ordering in the foreseeable future.
The following excerpt from a Grocery Dive article reports more on the topic:
- Click-and-collect continues to claim a growing slice of online grocery purchases, with sales share increasing five points between January and February, according to the latest e-commerce report from Brick Meets Click.
- “As a result, pickup captured nearly half of all online grocery sales in February and grows in importance as it continues to capture a larger share of sales,” the firm wrote in its announcement.
- Pickup and delivery sales totaled $6.1 billion in February, down $1 billion from January’s total as the number of online shoppers and purchase frequency both declined, according to Brick Meets Click. Total online sales for the month was $8 billion, down from $9.3 billion in January.
- There are worrying signs in the latest data, however. Among first-time pickup users polled in late February, less than 30% said they were “very” or “extremely” likely to use the service again. That compares with the 40% of first-time delivery users who said they plan to.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group