One of the advantages over their catalog and pure-play brethren that chain retailers bring to their web operations is their physical presence. They can allow customers to pick up their orders at the store for near-instant gratification. But retailers have wrestled with how to make that happen and whether it’s worth the extra trouble. Sears.com , which rolled out a pick-up-at-the-store policy about a year ago, reported on its early results at eTail 2004 East in Fort Lauderdale, FL, this week.
Sears.com’s call? It’s worth it. “We have found (store pick-up) to be very lucrative,” Bill Christopher, director of customer care, said. “It’s been a win for Sears Direct and a win for the stores.”
He reported that 27% of store pick-up sales are incremental sales. In addition, 22% of store pick-up customers make additional purchases while in the store, with an average ticket of $200.
Store-pick-up has the added benefit of being a less expensive transaction in that Sears does not pay the 5% of revenue to fulfill and ship the orders. And it does not incur inventory costs, as the items are in the stores already. Stores average three to four pick-up items a day, he says.
Among initiatives for the next year at Sears.com, No. 3 in Internet Retailer’s Top 300 Guide to online web sites, is to reduce the ready-to-pick-up time from two hours to 45-60 minutes, Christopher said. Another initiative is to allow third parties to pick up the order at a store so, for instance, someone in Chicago can buy an item for a family member in Des Moines and the recipient can pick up the order in a Des Moines store. Now, the person picking up the order must present the credit card that paid for the order.
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