When CompUSA, which operates more than 200 stores, launched its buy online/in-store pick-up program in 2003, there was no guaranteed time in which an order would be fulfilled. Instead, the retailer e-mailed customers when an order was ready for pick-up.
But as competitors began to enhance their programs by guaranteeing fulfillment in a specified window, CompUSA began working to achieve fulfillment in 15 minutes. The benchmark was based on customer feedback and store data.
Once stores demonstrated they could achieve at least a 95% success rate for fulfilling orders in the prescribed time, CompUSA launched its 15-minute guarantee in November 2006. Shoppers also have the option of picking up an online order later the same day or the following day. “We wanted to differentiate our program and the time guarantee, and other pick-up options are a way to do that,” says Al Hurlebaus, senior director of e-commerce. CompUSA is No. 39 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
Fulfilling 95% of online orders in 15 minutes requires that each store integrate its inventory management system with that of the web store. By doing so, shoppers can identify which online items are in-stock at their local store. To improve customer satisfaction, CompUSA allows customers to search the inventory of multiple stores within a 50-mile radius of a designated ZIP code to provide greater availability of products if the customer’s preferred store is out of stock. Store inventory is linked to CompUSA’s web store through an order management program that was developed in-house.
“We get a lot of multi-channel shoppers that will research items online and buy in-store, and this is a way for us to keep from losing that customer to another retailer because an item is out-of-stock at one store,” Hurlebaus says.
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