What is BOPIL™? How It Is Changing Package Management & Retail

When is the last time you spent your Saturday driving around from store-to-store shopping for goods?
Don’t worry if you can’t recall wasting your weekend running errands. If you’re like most consumers, then you’re shopping with ease and convenience via your smartphone, computer or smartwatch.
Pew Research reports that nearly 80 percent of U.S. consumers shop online, and 62 percent of them make online purchases every week. But consumers aren’t just clicking to buy and then waiting patiently for their orders. They’re demanding instant gratification. Over half – 61 percent – of consumers want their goods in their hands within one to three hours of placing an online order.
There’s no denying that retailers nowadays are facing drastic changes in consumer demand, behavior and above all, technology and online shopping. For example, the trend of buying online and picking up in store (BOPIS) is on the rise with 50 percent of consumers utilizing BOPIS within the last 12-months. Additionally, 80 percent of online shoppers expect to be able to pick up their items in under 10 minutes from the time they enter the store. Consumers want the goods they order online to be available immediately, and the pick-up process to be quick and easy. They also want the convenience and security of picking-up their online orders in store.
Retailers are beginning to realize that they must not only create solutions for omnichannel management, but also cater to the customers’ needs in order to foster greater customer loyalty and gain a competitive edge. That’s why 90 percent of retailers plan to implement a BOPIS model within the next three years.
With the retail landscape becoming more complex by the minute, there’s a major need for an innovative solution that will provide a seamless BOPIS experience. That’s where BOPIL™ (Buy Online, Pick-up in Locker) comes into play.
BOPIS retail lockers are the newest disruptive technology poised to shake up the retail world. BOPIL is more than just a smart, electronic locker system. BOPIL is the engine that keeps the BOPIS experience running smoothly.
In today’s competitive landscape, retailers need their BOPIS process to be on point, and BOPIL helps them achieve this. Some of the top benefits of BOPIL include:

• Revving up revenue. By bringing a customer into the store and delivering a convenient and quick experience, customers are more likely to impulsively purchase additional items. In fact, 61 percent of shoppers and 75 percent of millennials who come into the store to collect their online order make an unplanned purchase. Moreover, with BOPIL, stale merchandise is back on store floors faster improving the potential for sales. You can also drive additional in-store purchases by rewarding customers to utilize BOPIS via product coupons or samples in the lockers.
• Driving in-store traffic. More foot traffic equates to more opportunities to market to and encourage customers to buy something. Kohl’s is just one example of a retailer that has experienced a boost in foot traffic thanks to electronic parcel lockers. In fact, the retailer had a 12% increase in foot traffic after installing return centers.
• Elevating the customer experience. BOPIL locker solutions enhance the customer experience by making it quick, easy and convenient for customers to retrieve their online orders/goods. As a premium customer experience, BOPIL can help retailers build their brand loyalty.
• Improving Staff Efficiencies. BOPIL locker solutions boost retail staff efficiencies by providing fewer distractions and streamlining inventory audits allowing retail staff to focus more on in-store customers and brand engagement.
• Reducing fulfillment costs. BOPIL locker solutions provide fast order fulfillment via a chain of custody and accountability. Retail lockers like those offered by Parcel Pending provide a fast and easy way for retailers to pull an inventory audit report allowing staff to quickly identify existing orders pending customer pickup in the locker. Store management can quickly audit current BOPIS orders in a locker (compared to a bin or storage shelf), and the lockers provide a list of current orders waiting for pickup. The process of retrieving stale items is also very efficient since Parcel Pending technology allows order numbers to be scanned or a customer order to be selected at the kiosk.
• Boosting marketing opportunities. Macy’s offers their customers a 20% in-store discount as a reward for utilizing their electronic parcel lockers. This type of incentive helps to get their customers into Macy’s twice – once to pick up the online order and then again to make use of the 20% savings coupon. There are countless ways that BOPIL can help retailers market to their customers and providing a 20% discount coupon is just one effective example.

When you implement a BOPIS strategy, you are able to simplify the buying and delivery process of all online goods that consumers purchase on a website. With a BOPIL system, retailers can spend less time on organization and delivery and more time on improving customer satisfaction. With BOPIS putting a stake in the retail ground, the time is now for retailers of all sizes to invest in BOPIL as the next disruptive technology poised to shake up the retail world.