Whether marketers likeit or not, today’s shoppers are now using a combination shopping methods to satisfy their immediate needs. When they want convenience, they shop online. When they want immediate gratification, they go to the stores and pick their products. Of late, shoppers are increasingly combining the two, and according to Invesp CRO, 57% of online shoppers preferred to pick items they shopped online from stores during the last year. In that respect, retailers are feeling the pressure to stay competitive. Consequently, retailers are forced to look for cost-effective strategies that take into consideration various Omni channels, while bearing in mind shoppers appreciate choice and flexibility.

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Cost-effectiveness is the main motivation for picking up an on-line purchase

According to DigitalCommerce360, the main motivation for picking up an online purchase in a store is mostly about cost. Most of the shoppers who say they have picked an online purchase during the last year earn less than $200,000 in terms of household income.

Having said that, “buy Online, Pick up in store” (BOPUS) make sense from the customer point of view. It married the advantages of online shopping together with those associated with shopping in a traditional brick-and-mortar store, specifically, the ability to quickly and conveniently shop for a product and be able to see, touch and experience it. In other words, retailers must not ignore this trend because many consumers are beginning to love it. Therefore, this can only mean one thing: failure to embrace this shopping trend can be quite risky for your business.

Retailers can also benefit from BOPUS

Even from the retailer’s point of view, BOPUS cuts shipping costs in that consumers take over the cost of getting their purchases from the store. Moreover, some shipping costs can be so high that picking an item from a store proves less expensive.

Another advantage of BOPUS is that consumers are likely to make impulse purchases when they come to the store. This is huge for traders because according to eMarketer, 69% of shoppers who use BOPUS end up buying an additional item when they go to pick their online purchases from stress.

However, it is worth noting that BOPUS can turn out to be curse if poorly executed, particularly when it comes to inventory management. For instance, customers can order online only to be told that the item is not available when they go to pick them up in stores. This can greatly impair customer loyalty and demoralize them.