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Español How Buying Online & In-Store Pickup can boost your sales
Online store owners today are adopting the Collect in Store model to meet buyer expectations better. Buy online, pick up in-store — or Collect in Store — is an excellent way to drive store traffic and combine offline and online experiences. For any online retailer with a physical store presence, it's a handy tactic and one which can give you the edge over online-only competitors like Amazon.
The option, sometimes called click-and-collect, has significantly picked up during the pandemic. As ShopFactory online store owners increasingly implement it, it's essential to understand what this is and why buyers are now expecting it.
Another form of this is also called "Curbside pick-up", which has become the norm for shoppers who are in a rush, and want to pick-up product with-out having to leave their vehicle when they arrive at the store.
How does click-and-collect work?
Buyers want options and flexibility in how they want their orders fulfilled. They want to be able to complete their orders or make returns quickly and efficiently. Collect in Store is a solution to delivering convenience by enabling buyers to conveniently select which article they want to purchase immediately and which products are worth waiting for. Here's a typical customer journey:
Step 1: Buyers order online through your ShopFactory shop
When it comes to In-Store pickup, you need to create extra convenience. In the latest version of ShopFactory, when a buyer selects local pickup during checkout, the 'Delivery Address' form is prefilled automatically with your store Address details.
To know more about how to activate this feature read the FAQ here.
Step 2 : The buyer picks up the order
Buyers can go inside your physical Store to a designated online pickup area where someone from your team or yourself will hand over the products. As mentioned above, some store owners are taking it one step further by facilitating curbside pickup — where a buyer can drive up to the store location and receive their order without ever leaving their car. Either way, your buyer should be smoothly guided through the steps for picking up their order, including obtaining a text message, push notification, or email with quick and easy instructions about where their product will be waiting in the Store.
You can easily achieve this with ShopFactory Webhooks. Watch the video that shows how the webhooks app works or let us know how we can help you automate your processes, drop us an email at: sf14@shopfactory.com
8 Extra Tips
Here are eight extra tips to improve the customer experience for Store Pickup services
- Make sure buyers know about it. Increase awareness, and sell the benefits of in-store pickup services in your shop. For example, why not let buyers know about this option around the site, through headers or banners, and product and checkout pages.
- Allow stock control on product pages
Stock levels aid the in-store pickup process and can also be helpful for general research online, buying offline consumer behavior. Even if visitors don't order items online, they may still head into stores knowing they can find what they are looking for. Click here to learn more about Automatic/Realtime Stock Control in ShopFactory - Organize rapid collection. Provided the item is in stock, don't make buyers wait too long for collection.
- Explain the process clearly.Let people know how it works when the products are available and what to do when they head to a store.
- Don't even think of charging for it
Some store owners do charge for in-store pick up, but this is a mistake. Instead, try to focus on the benefits of the service, notably because it brings buyers into stores where there is potential for cross-selling and making much more than any delivery charge. - Keep it straightforward on the shopping basket page
If buyers haven't seen the option yet, this will prompt them. It also offers a valuable alternative if they feel shipping charges are too high. - Make sure you check your Store on mobile devices
Mobile is a vital link in your multichannel marketing strategy, as buyers are nowadays mainly using their phones for product searches and stock checking while shopping. - Suggest alternative products when items are out of stock
Let's say you search for a 50-liter aquarium, and it isn't in stock. Maybe buyers would go for a 100-liter version instead? Give them alternatives using ShopFactory's "Cross Promotion" tool and related products features.
When buyers go in-store to pick up their orders, they will most likely start looking around and browse for more products. Or they may have forgotten to add something else they need to their cart. By all means, it's the perfect opportunity for increased upsells. Shipping orders to buyers' front door can be expensive, with labor and packaging costs quickly adding up. You can save on last-mile shipping if buyers pick up items from your Store while still offering a fast, free shipping option.