BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) is a service that retailers offer their customers. With the COVID-19 pandemic some countries saw online ordering and e-commerce accelerated by up to 5-fold with traditional brick-and-mortar retailers quickly having to adapt.

BOPIS provides a link between a retailer’s physical store and their e-commerce solution, and by installing the correct solution they can compete with major online e-commerce players.

BOPIS caters for stores that have both a physical and an online presence … it’s simply an additional option for shipping.

Advantages for the retailer:

  • Cost saving: With a successful BOPIS solution there is a big saving with regard to last-mile deliveries by offering in-store pickup which can now be passed onto the consumer
  • Competition: To date, it has been extremely difficult for a physical retailer to compete with an online retailer. By offering a seamless BOPIS solution the physical retailer can now offer a quick, convenient, and potentially free delivery option.
  • Traffic: By driving the customer back into the physical store the retailer can increase foot traffic, which is under big pressure at the moment. Once the customer is in-store they can entice an upsell with vouchers or discounts for in-store purchases
  • Stock control: The holy grail of a successful BOPIS solution is to integrate with the back-end stock levels both at dc and store level to ensure that products make it into customers’ hands in the quickest and most affordable way. With a successful solution, the retailer could potentially offer a 1 hr pick up option!

Advantages for the customer:

  • Convenience: There is nothing more frustrating than placing an online order and not knowing when it’s being delivered. With a BOPIS solution, the customer gets updated when orders arrive in the store and they can collect at their own convenience. Also, the customer doesn’t have to worry about no-one being home for deliveries
  • Cost saving: Because the retailer does not charge for the high cost of the last mile delivery a BOPIS solution is generally a lot cheaper or even free as compared to a home delivery
  • Security: In South Africa, a lot of consumers don’t want couriers delivering to their houses as it’s a definite security risk (Courier vehicles being hijacked is, unfortunately, a daily occurrence).
    Now you can now collect your order in the safety of a retail outlet

One of the few disadvantages of a BOPIS solution for a retailer can be setting up the systems, employing staff, making room for parcels, etc, however, there’s a simple solution for this. Simply install an electronic locker solution, not only will it bring order to the retailers’ online orders, it can be contactless. Don’t forget that it’s also possible to brand the lockers which only further adds to the overall omnichannel solution!