Customer experience is one of the most important things to focus on in ecommerce fulfillment and you need to make sure you offer the best shopping experience possible to stand out from your competition. Do your customers need to return an item? Make it as easy as possible for them with a variety of convenient return options. Are they in a hurry? Allow them to reserve items online and pick them up at your physical store. Some customers don’t even want to leave their cars to get their items, so you’d better offer curbside pickup. These concepts are more important than ever to understand so you can offer your customers exactly what they’re looking for, but we know it can be difficult to keep up with all the new trends. We’ve compiled some of the most important ecommerce terms and concepts to know in 2021.
Some customers don’t even want to leave their cars to get their items, so you’d better offer curbside pickup.
BOPIS fulfillment
The term “BOPIS” has been floating around for quite some time now, and no, we’re not talking about the delicious Filipino dish. BOPIS stands for “buy online, pick up in store” and while it was already relevant, the COVID-19 pandemic made it a necessity. BOPIS is all about customer service and convenience, as it allows your customers to make an online purchase and pick it up from your brick and mortar store the same day (sometimes within hours), avoiding the shipping cost and having to wait for the item to ship. A BOPIS strategy can be great for retailers as well because it means you don’t need to deal with the fulfillment or shipment of an online order, just have a store associate pull the items from your store inventory and get them ready for pickup. Learn more about BOPIS and how it can help your business.
What is click and collect?
Click and collect is another term for a BOPIS program. It really speaks to the convenience of shopping online, and just heading to the retail store to pick it up without having to wait in line to pay at the store or even wander the aisles looking for your items. Consumers have very busy lives and love the convenience of click and collect, so we don’t foresee this trend going away anytime soon.
Curbside pickup definition
Curbside pickup is another trend that became very relevant during the pandemic, especially during the early days when many people didn’t want to physically go into stores. Retail curbside pickup is similar to BOPIS fulfillment and click and collect, but instead of going into the store to pick up items purchased online, customers just pull into the pickup location in the parking lot, text the store that they’re there, and someone will bring their items right out to them. By still going to the store to pick the items up, customers save on delivery costs and get the added convenience of someone loading the product directly into their car (wearing your pajamas and slippers is optional).
BORIS retail
BORIS is similar to BOPIS fulfillment, because it still involves purchasing an item online, but BORIS retail allows customers to return items in store instead of returning them via mail. This is actually a great way to do returns for everyone involved. It’s advantageous for the consumer because it means they are able to get a refund, replacement or store credit much faster than if they were to return by mail. It’s also great for you as the seller because it means you don’t need to provide free return shipping to your customers. Returns are a very important part of the customer journey, so it’s vital to provide a fair and convenient returns policy, and BORIS is a great way to do that for you and your customers. Learn more about how to increase customer loyalty with a great returns process.
What is ROPIS?
ROPIS takes BOPIS fulfillment to a whole new level. It stands for “reserve online, pick up in store” and it means that customers don’t need to purchase items until they are able to come into their local store to look at it or try it on. There are a few items in particular where this order fulfillment method makes a lot of sense. One example is clothing and apparel where sizes are inconsistent from retailer to retailer and almost impossible to confirm online. ROPIS allows your customers to try items on before purchasing. This is also good for you as the retailer because it means you don’t have to worry about customers purchasing more than one size of the same item and sending the others back, leaving you to process the returns. ROPIS can also be good if customers are looking at furniture or décor that might look different in person than online. By allowing them to reserve the items online and then visit the store to make sure they are the correct size, material or color, you are reducing the risk of purchase for the shopper while building customer loyalty.
By allowing them to reserve the items online and then visit the store to make sure they are the correct size, material or color, you are reducing the risk of purchase for shoppers while building customer loyalty.
Omnichannel fulfillment
Omnichannel fulfillment is not a new trend, but it’s more vital than ever to align your fulfillment process to increasing customer expectations. It allows you to fulfill a customer order using a strategy that takes advantage of multiple channels like retail, wholesale, ecommerce, in-store pickup, home delivery, in-store returns and more. The reality is that omnichannel fulfillment is becoming increasingly common for large and small shippers alike, and if you aren’t doing it, you need to be to keep up with the competition. Learn more about our omnichannel distribution services and adopting an omnichannel fulfillment solution.
Stay in the know about ecommerce concepts with ITS Logistics
At ITS Logistics, we know that ecommerce is constantly changing, and new concepts are emerging all the time. Our ecommerce fulfillment and omnichannel retail experts stay up to date on the latest and greatest trends, terms and concepts and can offer you advice as to which ones will make the most sense for your business and can help you implement these new techniques into your supply chain. Learn more about how we can help today.
