In the US, more than 200 million shoppers visit the store each month. Think of the potential of tapping into that vast reach for your local store!

What is BOPIS?

Amazon BOPIS stands for By Online Pick up In Store. It’s a new and revolutionary module only for Shopify, meant to allow your customers to pick up their bought products in your local store.

Now, you may be thinking, why would they want to do that? The main idea here is that, sometimes customers don’t want to wait for their products, or better said, they wouldn’t have the need for waiting if the store they just bought from is quite close. So giving them the chance to just by them from home, and then allowing them to pick it up at a certain moment, is quite useful to accustom that client to come to your local store. If they come once and like it, they my comeback again in the future.

It’s a great chance to create a closer relationship with your customers and turn them into repeating customers!

Benefits of using BOPIS: 

Retailers can use Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) to bring together their online and offline experiences, while also encouraging customers to visit their local stores.

• Quick service

For many customers online shopping may be more convenient and offer a faster journey, but there are frustrating aspects of online shopping. 

With Bopis, you can help your customers bypass these aspects of online shopping such as waiting 2 days or longer for delivery by getting the products in the hands of the customer in an hour or two, more quickly and efficiently.

• Bring more customers to your local store get more items to the shopping cart

As the use of online shopping has become more widespread, many physical stores have had difficulty in either increasing or sustaining their customer numbers. Shopping online is more convenient and usually quicker. But with BOPIS, retailers can bridge the gap between the digital (online stores) and the physical (local stores) to bring customers back to their local stores. As a result, almost half of the customers make extra purchases when they come to collect their items in-store – this also helps the local store locations to promote their most popular items and new arrivals.

According to Shopify: 

59% of consumers are interested in BOPIS-type shopping options.
 Among BOPIS shoppers, 30% chose this order fulfillment option for the first time since the pandemic was declared.
Among BOPIS shoppers, 64% say they are opting for in-store pickup more often than before the pandemic was declared.

• Create better relationships with your existing and new customers

As you may well know, establishing a good relationship with customers is essential for the long-term growth of your business. 

Developing a strong bond based on trust and communication makes customers feel more secure and connected with your brand, which can result in an increase in customer loyalty while also increasing the rate of repeat buying. 

• Increase your sales by providing more choices

When customers come to pick up their order, they may take the opportunity to browse and potentially purchase additional items. This could lead to increased in-store sales.

Research, shown by the International Council of Shopping Centers, shows over 50% of adult shoppers use BOPIS. And 67% of those people add additional items to their carts when knowing they can pick it up immediately.

• Keep your picked-up in-store stock separated and your inventory organized

BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In-Store) is a way to streamline inventory management and get real-time stock updates by merging online and in-store inventory tracking. This allows for orders to be fulfilled from either the store or distribution center, depending on which is faster, and gives more access and control over a larger assortment of inventory. Additionally, it provides better insights into what products are available in real-time while also providing customers with In-stock insurance.

All of that sounds great, but you might be asking yourself:

How does BOPIS work?

• Customers buy online, through your website or mobile app

After connecting your Amazon account, setting your locations and organizing your inventory through the app, the customer will be able to select the time and pickup location for the products in their cart. Real-time local inventory updates allow the customer to know exactly when and where the products will be available for pickup.

• You fulfill the online order

Buy online, pick-up in-store is a retail order fulfillment scenario where customers can purchase items online and pick them up at their local store. If the item is in stock, it can be located, picked and packed, and set aside for the customer to pick up.

If the item is not in stock, it can be ordered from another store location or warehouse and the customer will be notified when it is available for pickup.

• The customer picks up the order 

Retailers should offer a variety of BOPIS options to customers, such as in-store pickup, curbside pickup, and designated pickup locations. Regardless of which options are chosen, it’s important that the process should be clear and easy to understand from start to finish, with order confirmation and clear instructions on where and how to pick up products.

Statistics prove that the BOPIS market is growing and growing! 

The popularity of BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In-Store) is increasing due to its convenience, benefits for retailers, stores, and customers, and new technological developments in tracking and digitization. We have the statistics: 

The BOPIS market was worth USD 290.63 Billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 1011.38 Billion in 2027, growing at a CAGR of 19.50% from 2021 to 2027, according to Brand Essence