In-store pick-up is a hit with REI’s online customers
When REI launched its in-store pick-up service for online orders in July, it didn’t take long for online customers to notice it. Nearly 30% of all online orders already use the service, helping to drive up cross-channel sales, a spokesman tells InternetRetailer.com.
The in-store pick-up service lets online customers place orders on the web and then either pick up from in-store inventory or have products shipped to a particular store, free of shipping charges. Within the first few weeks, 33% of all orders on REI-Outlet.com and 28% of orders on REI.com were in-store pick-up orders, REI says.
Meantime, sales have been rising sharply both online and in stores. August sales to date are up 50% at REI-Outlet.com and 18% at REI.com over the same period last year. August store sales were not available, but store sales have also been strong this summer, the spokesman says.
REI is still figuring the impact of the in-store pick-up service on incremental online and store sales, but expects to show an overall sales increase. “Our feeling is that the program has contributed to sales at REI-Outlet.com, REI.com and in our stores,” the spokesman says.
The in-store pick-up service is supported by new infrastructure that includes IBM’s WebSphere platform with updated database software from Oracle Corp. In addition, the distribution center that serves REI’s 66 stores also serves its web sites, making it easier for REI to ship online orders on a truck destined for any one of its stores.
The new coordinated database system also enables store clerks to quickly check an order that a customer placed online. For instance, a customer who orders a tent online may later decide while in a store to also purchase a ground cover. But because REI sells ground covers that are custom-fitted for each tent, the customer would need to know the tent’s model number and measurements in order to get the correct ground cover. The new database system lets a store clerk check the details of the customer’s online order at a web-based kiosk.
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