Retailers have flexed their fulfillment muscles in order to keep consumers satisfied and revenue coming into their business.
Turn Click and Collect to Click and CONNECT:
5 Ways Optimized Curbside Pickup Can Drive Customer Engagement and Loyalty
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One of the stars of click and collect’s great acceleration of 2020? Curbside pickup.
It’s easy to see why.
It’s flexible (and safe)
Consumers who can’t (or don’t want to) venture into stores still have the power to get products quickly and efficiently.
It's fast
Best-in-class retailers are promising pickup times in as little as one hour, helping gratify consumers’ immediate needs.
It’s easy
Some retailers have mastered the entire curbside experience, empowering consumers to go through the whole process with a few taps on their smartphone.
It’s fast
Winning at Same-Day Delivery
5 Steps to Craft Your Competitive Advantage
Now, we’re in the optimization phase
While many retailers began offering curbside to simply adapt to new consumer needs and safety requirements, adoption is continuing to soar. Retailers will need to do more to stand out and maximize revenue potential moving forward. The key to success is nailing the fundamentals of a best-in-class experience and simultaneously finding new ways to surprise and delight at all stages of the experience.
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Following are five ways to do just that.
More than half of retail chains offer curbside pickup
Percentage of retail chains in 2020 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 offering curbside pickup
7%
51%
8%
Early 2020
Mid 2021
Early 2021
Source: Digital Commerce 360
YOUR STEPS TO CURBSIDE SUCCESS
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Inventory Visibility and Order Management Capabilities
Empower Your Associates to Fulfill the Brand Promise
Consider the Entire Customer Experience
Keep Close Watch on the Innovators
Find New Ways to Surprise and Delight
Customer Needs and Expectations
Omnichannel Inventory Visibility and Demand Levels
Order Management Capabilities
Vet and Onboard Delivery Partners
Customer Communication
Online shoppers should be able to see which items are available for curbside pickup or contactless click and collect, and receive an estimate of how quickly they’ll be able to get their orders. If items aren’t available in stores, you should also have the power to ship them from another location or even a nearby distribution center or warehouse.
What is the first, most critical step to curbside success? Real-time inventory visibility and powerful order management capabilities.
We’ve covered these best practices in our same-day delivery experience checklist. Some key reminders:
Ensure order integration between your commerce platform and stores is timely, accurate and reliable.
Evaluate in-store inventory accuracy and availability to your commerce platform.
Document and verify pick and pack processes for each store format to ensure they are reliable, repeatable and supported by your OMS.
Your associates are what make the entire curbside experience run successfully. Give them the tools and information they need to do their jobs well — every step of the way.
Real-time access to inventory information (across all stores and channels)
Key tools & capabilities:
Customer order information
Instant access to customer records and insights (via CRM)
Real-time worklists to provide updates on the picking and packing process
Communication capabilities to know when customers have arrived at a location
Item pickup is just one small part of the curbside experience. In fact, there is an entire customer journey that you need to map and optimize in order to ensure success.
The most notable takeaway in this journey map: customer communication is key. Customers must know when their order is ready, where they should go and what to do when they arrive.
A Customer Journey Workflow
Place Order Online – Curbside Pickup
Customer Email
Ready For Pickup
Customer Notification
Customer Arrival
Store Associate Notification
Complete - Curbside Pickup
Customer places order online for Curbside or Click and Collect, selecting from eligible items online.
Customer receives email with order details and directions. Options include opt-in link and integration with SMS, mobile app, etc.
Store associate checks worklist for pending order, picks order and marks Ready For Pickup.
Customer receives email notification that their order is Ready for Pickup with specific instructions for pickup/parking.
Customer arrives at the store, parks in designated area for curbside pickup. Customer Checks-In to notify store via phone call, SMS or mobile app, that they have arrived.
Store associates are notified via laptop, tablet or phone that the customer has arrived.
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Store associate brings item to customer, verifies ID, and places item in vehicle.
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Target
Curbside pickup is a nascent service, but some retailers have already made significant progress. Keep tabs on early movers and shakers that are investing a lot of time and money into creating successful curbside experiences.
The Vitamin Shoppe
After rolling out curbside during the heart of store closures, The Vitamin Shoppe worked to level up the experience. Initially, scrappiness was key, but the retailer expanded its services by giving consultants the power to use technology to better serve customers, make product recommendations and provide wellness guidance in their most critical time of need.
Currys PC World
Consumers can order items online and pick them up at any of the retailer’s 300 locations using the Drive Thru service. They shop online, select the Click and Collect option, drive to the store and park in one of the collection bays. Shoppers then click the link in their Ready to Collect email to alert associates that they’ve arrived. A team member then brings the order out and safely places it in the back of their car.
Halfords
Shoppers can browse Halfords.com and select Click and Collect as an option. Once they complete their orders, they receive an SMS confirmation and an update when their order is ready for pickup. Customers can park near the store and pick up the item at a desk near the front of the entrance.
In its Q2 2021 results, Target reported they saw 123% growth in sales for its Drive Up service over the last quarter. As a result, the executive leadership team has pointed to this service as a key area of investment moving forward, especially given the positive response from its primary customers: Parents. Mobile app users can quickly access local inventory based on their preferred store and see which items are available for curbside pickup. Customers then select Drive Up as their delivery option, go to the designated parking area and alert employees that they’re there.
Let’s be honest, having an order ready on time is merely table stakes for curbside pickup. If you want to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty, you have to find new ways to personalize the experience.
For example:
Add relevant product samples to bags
Include a free gift with purchase from a relevant brand
Train associates to provide quick tips on item set up and care
Empower associates to make additional product recommendations that can quickly be picked and paid for via mobile
Encourage associates to promote relevant services or support
Drive Shopper Satisfaction...from the Curbside and Beyond
Curbside pickup isn’t going away. It has become an incredible convenience for consumers and a big value driver for retailers. If you’re looking for ways to expand your click and collect strategy, curbside is a great way to do it.
Aptos ONE can help you develop a solid foundation.
Learn more about Aptos Order Management
But you need the right tech to optimize the entire process, empower your associates and drive profitability.
Get up-to-date inventory availability across stores
Align store associates on key fulfillment tasks and order progress
Give associates access to all consumer orders, placed across all channels
Empower associates with real-time access to help them better engage and upsell
Aptos Enterprise Order Management can help you deliver stellar interactions by optimizing several critical aspects of the curbside pickup experience:
Communicate timely, accurate and informative messages to customers throughout the order lifecycle.
Monitor the progress of every order and escalate unexpected issues to minimize impact to the customer.
Balance demand with each store’s capacity to pick, pack and deliver to ensure in-store and curbside customers receive equally seamless experiences.
Make promises you can keep based on accurate product availability.
