Why Curbside Pick-up is Revolutionizing Retail Industry

Curbside pickup has surged in popularity, and in this article, we will be digging into the reasons behind its rising preference. We will also talk about the benefits it brings and why retailers must adopt this service into their retail strategy.

The pandemic taught something vital to business owners. No industry is untouchable! No matter which service you provide or your products' diversity, some situations will limit your sales and affect your revenue cycle.

Now is the time that industries realize a very crucial fact; refine operations and be prepared for post-pandemic operations.

Introduction to curbside pickup

With the latest pandemic, governments worldwide came up with various strategies to curb its spread and determine the safest and smoothest way of carrying out economic activities.

The same scenario was presented in front of the retail industry, and man did they take it head-on. Retail businesses had to quickly change their focus and that too on a large scale.

And that is where the idea of closing the shutter and adopting an exclusive curbside pickup model came into play. Curbside pickup gave customers the option of purchasing their products online and picking up their purchases from their favorite retail store’s parking lot!

It would not be too blunt of a statement when we say that Covid-19 has changed many things; going on a purchasing spree in your retail store is one of them.

Why is curbside pickup the next big thing? With some stats.

As you can see in this statistical figure, 9 out of 10 customers rated these verticals based on convenience. We all know how essential convenience is to enhance retail customers’ shopping experience and customer experience as a whole!

Over 90 percent of consumers who tried it said curbside was convenient – NRF Blog

It is psychological! While many will try and return to the old normal, many have become used to the new normal - stay at home. We know companies have directed their employees to carry on with the work from the home regime.

Buy-online, pickup-in-store (BOPIS) orders surged 195% YoY in May 2020 - Adobe Digital Economy Index

Technology and enhanced logistics have played its part in making the whole stay at home regime successful.

Walmart registered a 74% YoY increase in its e-commerce sales in the first quarter because of pickup and delivery services. The number of customers who availed curbside pickup for the first time was 4X more.

Curbside Pickup services are easy & convenient and are a great way to ensure business continuity. With a significant shift towards contactless order fulfillment, here are ways that Curbside Pickup can help retailers & customers to be successful during this pandemic:

Minimizes physical interaction
Leverages In-Store Inventory
Guaranteed Line-Buster
Strengthens Brand Image

The above advantages have emphasized the importance of finding solutions to specific challenges retailers may face while ensuring the logistics behind the relatively new product delivery scenario and supply.

Criteria for implementing a successful Curbside pickup solution:

Frictionless CX

Designing an experience that is frictionless for your customers is a must. Key characteristics of an excellent pickup experience:

Giving options to customers to choose between in-store/Curbside Pickup,
Minimizing wait times,
Making it simple & hassle-free,
Ensuring that there is no chance of human error of mixing up items, missing an item, etc.

Streamlining Store Operations

Key factors that should be considered while designing the curbside pickup service for streamlining store operations are:

Managing store capacity,
Informing stores about upcoming traffic,
Making the best use of your associate’s time for curbside delivery,
Being able to learn from the new customer journey.

A curbside solution with the characteristics will enable retailers to satisfy their customers quickly by creating a smooth and convenient frictionless customer experience, enhance their brand loyalty & ensure safety through social distancing.

How to increase experience using Curbside Pickup, why retailers should go for it?

With lowered revenue cycle and the customer data's misplacement, retailers have been facing multiple fronts.

As always, technology needs to be implemented at the operations level so that retailers immensely benefit from the dynamic personalization engines to map out consumer behavior and the latest market trends in real-time.

And according to industry experts, these are the two primary factors that pose a significant challenge to the retail industry.

Inventory management is another rising issue, with demand for primary and exotic goods rising, and the unpredictable shopping pattern. With business intelligence and analytics, retail businesses can benefit greatly.

Curbside pickup is here to stay, and its demand will continue to increase as more customers start realizing its convenience in the post-Covid-19 world.

Let this simple thought sink in, wouldn’t you pick up your order from your favorite retail store without entering the store (and risk getting infected with the virus), especially if the store comes on your daily route?

Before the pandemic, online grocery accounted for only 3% or 4% in the US. In the new normal, this statistic has increased 5X in a short time, touching 10% to 15%.

Retailers will need to use technology for automated product tagging and seamless inventory management.

Retailers who are offering BOPIS, Curbside pickup services

So, you are on your way from the office, and before heading home, you need to clear out your grocery list. We do not need to point out how voice assistants have made your lives more comfortable in that department.

Just ask your voice assistant to talk with one of your favorite grocery apps and book your order. But wait, with the Covid-19 safeguards in place, you do not want to get out of your car. And neither do you want to be around people for a prolonged period.

This is where brick-and-mortar retailers have merged technology with safeguarded customer service, Curbside Pickup. Curbside Pick up has brought in the ease of shopping and kept the stress of contracting an invisible virus at bay.

While the list of stores that offer this service is growing, we are listing down a few of them here.

1. Bed Bath & Beyond

You have to worry less about your bedding with Bed Bath & Beyond’s in-store pickup service. Select the items you want to purchase online and pay for them to get a reservation. You receive a confirmation email from them. When you are at the store, show the confirmation email and checkout. They hold your items for up to 2 days.