We all have been trying to get used to this radical lifestyle change brought by the coronavirus. Our preferences & priorities of both personal and professional life have been shifting drastically.  

People are urged to stay at home and this has resulted in shutting down businesses all around the globe. 

Fortunately, there are a few industries that have observed the boom and grocery retail is one of them. The sales in the grocery industry (comprises of both brick & mortar and e-commerce) are increasing as people are stockpiling the essentials. 

The surge is so drastic that the retailers are not able to fulfill the demand. The need of the hour is a business model that not only fulfills customer’s needs and expectations (without compromising the user experience) but also streamline the supply chain and prevent it from any damage.

“Buy Online, Pick Up In-Stores (BOPIS) or Click-and-Collect Business Model”

Why ‘Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store’ Emerged during COVID-19?

Grocery Shelves Running Out of Stock Amid The Coronavirus

Due to multiple restrictions on transportation, lack of delivery workforce, and other limitations caused by the lockdown, the grocery stores struggled to maintain the balance between demand and supply. The last leg of the supply chain is almost broken.

Delayed in Online Grocery Orders Due to Sudden Surge in the Demand

This is where BOPIS which is also known as “Click and Collect” comes into the picture. 

It is basically a feature that combines both shopping experiences, offline grocery shopping, and online grocery shopping.

a) It solves the social distancing issue that was there in offline shopping, and 

b) It also enables people to shop online and pick up their orders from store or warehouses as per their convenience.

No wonder ‘click and collect’ is so convenient that it was growing even before the pandemic hit the world. Let’s take a look at the graph:

Click-and-Collect use in Grocery Shopping in the US

And following is how BOPIS almost doubled in the year 2020 in the US:

BOPIS Grocery Sales in the US

How does BOPIS work for the Grocery Retail?

The primary thing that BOPIS provides to the customer is flexibility and the other important feature is that the customer can easily return/exchange or add more products to the order while picking it up.

Freshstmart.com providing Click-and-Collect Locker Facility amid the Coronavirus

Here are the 3 stages of BOPIS:

  1. Ordering grocery online through the website or mobile app
  2. Preparing the order (packing & informing the customer)
  3. Picking up the order

Suggested Read: Buy Online, Pick-up In Store (Click and Collect) Shopping: Creating an Omnichannel Experience in Grocery Retail Industry

Conclusion

Online Grocery Selling Business is slowly becoming a popular niche for entrepreneurs to invest. They are making sure that they integrate all the necessary features to satisfy the customer in the best possible way. BOPIS is one of them and it has become a stimulating factor to attract both offline and online customers.

If you are planning to start an e-grocery store, then don’t forget to integrate click and collect model. Platforms like Growcer by FATbit Technologies can help you build your online grocery platform with an in-built BOPIS feature.