BOPIS Has Its Black Friday Moment

The digital shift is giving way to the delivery shift.

Or said another way — for consumers who want to make sure they get exactly what they ordered, while also saving money on shipping costs, becoming the delivery person is becoming an attractive option. In short, BOPIS is back and having a moment.

Not only is making the trek to a nearby brick-and-mortar location more palatable, but gas prices have backed off from inflation-fueled highs, while lingering supply chain snarls and inventory upheaval make waiting for doorstop delivery an antsy game.

In-Person and On-Premise

None of this is to say that in-store or curbside pickup is going to overtake shipping to the house (which has been used by about 80% of consumers headed right into the holiday shopping season). But as the latest spate of data on delivery — with Black Friday as a snapshot — shows that in-person pickup has been gaining ground.

The chart below shows how online shoppers acquired their Black Friday orders, as detailed in the Black Friday report published last week. Per the stats below, in-store pickup was used by 25% of consumers, nearly twice the levels seen last year. Curbside pickup increased, too.

Acting as one’s own delivery service (and driver) is no solely-holiday-related flash in the pan. Over the summer, separate PYMNTS studies showed that curbside and in-store pickup options have become more popular in the U.S. As many as 12% of U.S. consumers used the in-store option, and 11% used curbside, outpacing low-single-digit rates seen in other countries.

The Model Has Legs

The model is an extensible one. We’ve noted in this space that, in but one example, Starbucks products are now being added to Target’s curbside pickup business.  In another example. Kohl’s said in August that it is expanding BOPIS self-pickup on eligible online orders at all 1,100 Kohl’s stores.

Certain categories are lending themselves well to omnichannel efforts. PYMNTS has found that 4 in 10 consumers order groceries online for curbside pickup every month, as detailed in PYMNTS’ ConnectedEconomy studies. The data show that 37% of consumers had ordered groceries online and picked them up curbside.

The pivot away from getting everything delivered at home, towards getting out and about, also has some positive impact for merchants. Walking into the store may beget impulse buying in the aisle, which in turn boosts basket sizes.