Retailers that have yet to offer consumers the convenience of ordering online and picking up those purchases in-store are missing out on business, according to recent research from King Retail Solutions.
When King Retail Solutions asked shoppers if they were interested in buying online and picking up in-store, more than three-quarters (78%) said they were game. In fact, almost half of those polled said they had already taken this route in the past year.
Those most likely to have tried online purchase with in-store pickup were Baby Boomers, men and those with children under the age of 18.
On the other hand, those who lived rurally and Millennials were least likely to be interested in the option of picking up online purchases in-store.
The survey ‘2015 Consumer Study: Evolving Attitudes on When, Where, and How We Shop’, revealed a difference in in-store pick-up preference between products. While shoppers were willing to purchase electronics, housewares and apparel online for in-store pick-up, they were less keen to do so for groceries and prepared meals.
“Retailers today are being asked to spin a lot of plates when it comes to maintaining and, more importantly, adding to their relevance with shoppers. People are shopping everywhere they’re plugged in. Different types of shoppers approach those purchases with different attitudes,” said King Retail Solutions executive vice president, Andrew Swedenborg. “They’re researching quality, price, convenience. Some expect to have customized offers pushed directly. Others don’t like that. It’s all about creating a program that brings enough unique value to the table to differentiate your brand and then being able to scale that program to meet your shoppers where they’re at, in some ways hyper-personalized to respect each shopper’s preferences and boundaries.”
The reason groceries are perhaps way down the list of in-store pick-up products may have a lot to do with convenience. Recent research by Savvy found that convenience was the key driver of purchasing groceries online and having them delivered to the door.