E-commerce

Making curbside a critical component of the customer experience

Ram Venkataraman , chief product and technology officer at Kibo, says buy online-pickup curbside should not be viewed as a niche trend to sustain retail during the height of COVID-19. It's important to think about BOPAC beyond the behind-the-scenes logistics and create the best possible customer experience.

Photo by istock.com

December 30, 2020 by Ram Venketaraman

Since March, stores have had to close, limit customers, and scale back hours to adhere to pandemic regulations. Enter buy online, pickup curbside (BOPAC) a valuable fulfillment option that has allowed thousands of stores to continue serving customers while practicing safe social distancing.

Curbside pickup should not be seen as just a niche trend to sustain retail operations during the height of COVID-19. Adobe Analytics reports that curbside surged 208% in the first three weeks in April compared to the year before. With that in mind, it's important to think about BOPAC beyond the behind-the-scenes logistics and carefully create the best possible customer experience to maximize what should be an incredibly impactful yet short and sweet interaction.

Optimized 2-way communication

BOPAC in its current form might be new to many retailers, but it's also new to a lot of customers. Create communications to prepare a BOPAC customer with the right information before they arrive, such as the time window when they can come, what they can expect and exactly where they should go.

The more information customers have throughout their experience, the more likely they are to become repeat shoppers via this fulfillment option. Even seemingly small differences matter a lot. Office Depot not only provides notifications via email that an order is ready, but also has an "I'm Curbside" link in the email itself for a customer to click from their phone, saving them from having to make a phone call once parked.

Trigger notifications to your customers and keep them updated from the moment they place their order till they've safely picked up their purchase. And after they're done with pickup, be sure to not only thank them for their business, but keep them engaged with promotions and upsell offers.

AI-driven personalized experiences

Even if curbside pickup offers only a brief interaction, there are many reasons to focus on creating a relevant and personalized experience from beginning to end — from location-based curbside instructions to purchase-based cross-sell promotions. Retailers can use SMS push promotions, email offers, and drive-thru promo stations to create new value-creation opportunities.

And, personalization elements like predictive product recommendations can help with upsell and cross-sell opportunities, either while they are on their way, or as a way to engage after purchase. For example, if someone orders running shoes, offer socks at a discount upon checkout.

Offer post-pickup incentives

Remember that your customer might have driven away, but you can still find valuable ways to engage with them to keep the relationship going. Some restaurants have started asking for "curbside reviews" in exchange for a discount on future purchase — this not only keeps their reviews fresh, but also searchable if people want to know if there are nearby restaurants offering curbside pickup. If your consumers purchased goods that they'll use up quickly, consider timing offers based on when they might be in need of more.

For example, offering a discount on diapers two weeks after their original purchase. The messages can be triggered to time with the type of their purchase and the typical time between repeat purchases.

Empower store associates

With the right tools, in-store associates can be trained and armed to respond to new curbside orders quickly and efficiently, but also with the customer in mind. Ensuring that pickup windows are working, that the pickup area is running smoothly, and that customers know what to expect, are all key elements to the process that associates should be empowered to manage.

More than anything, it's important the customer feels like they are getting a consistent BOPAC experience. Combining back-end e-commerce logistics, order fulfillment and personalization across channels is the key to a unified customer experience. If customers order online and then alters that order on their phone, or sends an email before they arrive, they expect that a store associate has all that information readily available. If they already paid online, they don't want to be asked about payment. When they leave, they'll want confirmation on their phone that the pickup is complete. All of these seamless elements can only come together when curbside pickup is integrated into the multichannel sales and marketing flow across site, email, mobile, and store.

Making BOPAC an important customer experience

Although BOPAC may seem like a short interaction between the retailer and the shopper, savvy retailers who are ensuring all the details are in place including advanced communication with the shopper, personalized experiences, post-pickup incentives and empowered store associates will further cement BOPAC as a must-have experience in their customers eyes.

Ram Venkataraman is chief product and technology officer at Kibo