Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Buy Online, Pick Up In Store Leads To Higher Average Cart Values

Below is an older article (from the Puget Sound Business Journal) back from 2003 that I just ran across. It's interesting to note the effect of a consumers total purchase that the physical store had. Many people have stated that web - to - store pickup is nothing more than moving the cash register / POS into a person's home. I would argue that it is a lot more, and this simple case study proves it. It not only saves time for both the retailer and customer, but leads to a better experience and to higher average shopping basket values....

"Recreational Equipment Inc., the Kent-based outdoor gear cooperative, introduced an in-store pickup option in July. Within two months, about one-quarter of all online orders at REI.com and REI-outlet.com were being picked up in REI's 67 stores, the company said. For REI-outlet, nearly 40 percent of orders are being picked up in stores.

"We thought it would be successful, but we were surprised at how quickly it was successful and adopted," said Joan Broughton, REI's vice president of multichannel programs. "By the end of the first day, 60 stores had become involved in this."

It seems logical that bargain-hunters shopping REI-outlet.com would want to skip the shipping charges and pick up their goods at a store, Broughton said. Even better for the retailer, since there is no physical REI outlet store, it brings those shoppers to full-line REI stores, where they can peruse the company's full-price goods.

REI's data showed that 36 percent of online customers who chose in-store pickup ended up buying additional items when they came to claim their purchase. Those customers spent an average of about $90 apiece on additional gear."

To read the rest of the article, click here.

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