Launching Contactless Order Fulfillment

2020 radically changed how customers shop, in ways that are likely to have a long-term impact on their shopping expectations. With safety and convenience top priorities, contactless solutions like curbside pickup software (and buy online, pick up at curb - BOPAC), and low-contact solutions like buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), are gaining in popularity and adoption.

The popularity of curbside pickup reveals that the future of retail is not just more packages piling up on people’s doorsteps. It taps into Americans’ desire to drive to a store, a pull that can be just as strong as, or even stronger than, the convenience of home delivery. As of August, about three-fourths of the top 50 store-based retailers in the United States offered curbside pickup. Anything from a sweater to a book is now as easy to pick up as a sandwich. - The New York Times

Why Customers Choose Curbside Pickup

For parents with kids in cars, curbside pickup saves the headache of moving kids from carseats to shopping carts.
For shoppers where home delivery isn’t safe or easy (there’s not a safe place for storage if no one is home, for example), curbside pickup ensures that products get to the customer safely.
For bulky, fragile, or unwieldy purchases, curbside pickup can help shoppers with difficulty moving bulky items from shelf to cart to car, and can ensure (where delivery may not) that fragile items arrive intact.

How to Launch Contactless Pickup for Your Business

As customer expectations change, new questions arise:

What are the right solutions for your business? Do you have a curb to offer curbside pickup? Can you share space with other businesses?
Can you offer easy BOPIS? Do you have the in-store real estate to allow shoppers to come in and out quickly and easily?
Can you facilitate BOPAC? How can your eCommerce solutions and curb real estate work in tandem for safe fulfillment?
How can you plan for how curbside pickup would change your business?

About the Author

Sarah Falcon

VP, Marketing Global

Sarah is a nimble and creative marketing leader with 15 years of experience in a mix of agencies, B2B, and B2C enterprises. She brings a background in building and driving impactful marketing practices and processes for growing businesses. Sarah has expertise in brand, content marketing, lead generation, and marketing operations. She’s a co-author of the 2019 book on B2B eCommerce Digital Branch Secrets: eCommerce Playbook for Distributors.