Bell and Howell, the turnkey provider of automated pickup solutions, announced today the release of the final installment of their BOPIS State of the Industry report series. This report, created in partnership with IHL Group, a global research and advisory firm for the retail industry, takes an in-depth look at the in-store pickup portion of the BOPIS experience from the consumer’s perspective.
The findings in the report are based on the feedback provided by 300 secret shoppers that explored the BOPIS shopping experience at 10 top retailers across the U.S. “BOPIS is the fastest growing area of retail, but most retailers are not optimized for the process. Whether the systems are not yet optimized for the process or associates are not properly trained and engaged, there are many improvements that can be made,” explained Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group. “An engaged, friendly associate that has immediate access to the items for pickup order is critical to customer satisfaction. If retailers cannot provide this consistently across all their stores, automated pickup is a far superior solution to meet customer needs.”
Sample key findings include:
Signage Counts: Providing clear signage directing customers to their pickup location cuts the time it takes to complete the pickup process by 50%. It also increases the likelihood of using the service again and recommending the service to others by 14%.
Presence Matters: When customers have to pick up their order from the service desk, keeping the employee in front of a customer during order pickup improves overall satisfaction rating of the BOPIS process by 23%, the likelihood to buy additional items by 24% and satisfaction of the interaction with that employee by 13%.
Automation Enhances: Adding automation can improve a BOPIS program. In Walmart’s case, automation improved pickup times by 60%, order accuracy by 7% and likelihood for impulse purchases by 12%.
“Given the explosive growth of BOPIS, there are many small and simple things that retailers can do to improve their customer’s pickup experience,” explained Larry Blue, president and CEO of Bell and Howell. “This pickup-focused report provides several actionable insights and best practices that every retailer can use to enhance their store-level BOPIS experience.”
