Study: In-store pickup offers slower checkout

New York - Enabling shoppers to buy an item online and pick it up in a local store (BOPIS) is supposed to be a means of offering additional customer convenience. But according to a new study from business analytics firm StellaService, for BOPIS shoppers, 58% of their time in-store is spent at the checkout desk (3.1 minutes on average).



For context, the checkout process for in-store shoppers is more expedient, representing only 15% of their in-store time (1.1 minutes).



In order to provide an accurate comparison of how different major retailers perform at BOPIS, StellaService made purchases in the South U.S. region during the week of Oct. 27, 2014. The following retailers were evaluated: Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Office Depot, Sears, Staples, Target, Toys ‘R Us and Walmart.



Shoppers ordered items online for each of the 11 retailers and then tracked the corresponding notification from the retailer. Shoppers then visited two separate locations for each of the 11 retailers included in the study and conducted a “shop” at each location. A “shop” consisted of a side-by-side test of one standard in-store purchase and one BOPIS purchase. During each side-by-side test, shoppers entered the stores at precisely the same time. The standard in-store purchase was included in the study to provide additional points of comparison.



On average, BOPIS shoppers spent 5.4 minutes between entering the store and checking out. Office Depot was the most expedient, with shoppers only needing 2 minutes. At Target, shoppers were in and out in 3.5 minutes. Shoppers spent the most time in Home Depot and Macy’s (8.5 minutes each).

Standard in-store shops took seven minutes on average between entering the store and checking out. Shoppers spent the least amount of time in Target (3.5 minutes), the longest in Sears (16.5 minutes). For the 11 retailers evaluated, only Home Depot, Macy’s and Nordstrom had faster average in-store shops versus BOPIS.



StellaService shoppers purchased each online item and then tracked how quickly a retailer responded via email. Items were available for pick up in just more than an hour on average. The longest wait time for availability confirmation came from Macy’s (two hours, 26 minutes) and Sears (two hours, 20 minutes). The shortest wait for availability confirmation came from Best Buy and Lowe’s (10 minutes). Home Depot (25 minutes). Staples (28 minutes), Toys ‘r Us (30 minutes) and Office Depot (52 minutes) also communicated availability in less than an hour on average:



Home Depot was the only retailer that offered the ability to schedule a pick up.