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BOPIS report highlights importance of transparency, timeliness and clarity

July 24, 2019

Transparency, timeliness and clarity are keys to success for retailers offering buy online pickup in store solutions, according to a study released by Bell and Howell, a provider of automated click-and-collect solutions, and Orderdynamics, the retail division of Tecsys and a provider of advanced order management systems.

The companies have released the next installment of their collaborative BOPIS State of the Industry report series created in partnership with IHL Group, a research and advisory firm for the retail industry. The report takes an in-depth look at the online and notification portion of the BOPIS experience from the consumer’s perspective.

The findings are based on the feedback provided by 300 secret shoppers that explored the BOPIS shopping journey at 10 top retailers across the U.S.

"With this research, we solidified our hypothesis that the online purchase and notification segments are the most mature elements of the BOPIS experience," Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group, said in a press release. "However, there are still significant differences between the top-ranking retailers and bottom ranking retailers, especially in areas that have significant impact on the customer, namely the time to notify the customer, and clear instructions on the in-store pickup process."
 
Key findings include:

• Transparency matters: Consumer satisfaction ratings for having items clearly marked as "Available for Pickup" mirror the overall rating of the retailer’s site, satisfaction with the overall BOPIS process and the probability of repeating the service.
• Timeliness differentiates: The speed of notification is the greatest area of disparities in the ratings. Those retailers who sent notifications of fulfilled orders in two hours or less, saw a significant increase in metrics around repeat business, recommending the service to others and buying additional items.
• Clarity helps: Retailers who provide clear instructions on where to pick up orders once in the store has a critical impact on their overall pickup experience ratings.

"Although retailers have come a long way with improving their online buying experience, it's clear that there are some crucial areas of needed improvement," said Peter Brereton, president and CEO, Tecsys, in the release. "Retailers who are winning in the BOPIS game have a mature inventory management system that clearly indicates what is available for BOPIS, but those who prioritize order fulfillment are building the greatest customer loyalty as their BOPIS service grows."
 
"Customers using the BOPIS service expect a thoughtful, frictionless and personalized shopping experience," said Larry Blue, president and CEO of Bell and Howell, in the release. "This report gives retailers some insights that will surprise them and provide tips to take the first part of their BOPIS process to the next level."

The report can be downloaded here.