How To Adapt Your Click and Collect Software for COVID-19

Retailers can create a contactless and seamless pickup experience during Covid-19 using BOPIS or click and collect check-in software.

With an increased consumer appetite for online shopping, retail brands have overcome a lengthy list of obstacles to provide attractive online delivery and in-store pick-up options.

But with the Coronavirus outbreak demanding consumers limit their time in public, and with online deliveries taking weeks to arrive instead of days, in-store pick-up (click & collect) has become a pragmatic alternative for many consumers.

However, many retailers require their in-store pick-up customers to wait in lengthy lines before being served, and then wait again for their orders to be collected by a store associate, which places both consumers and employees at risk.

Read: How retailers can use queue management software to provide contactless order pickup

Here’s how retailers can adapt their buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) processes to encourage social distancing measures:

1) Digitize your in-store pick-up queue

Instead of asking your in-store pick-up customers to line up and wait to be served by a member of staff, allow them to join a digital line using a digital queuing system. This way your customers can see what position they are in the queue alongside an expected wait time, without having to physically stand in line.

Customers can wait outside the store or go and do something else while they wait, and you can keep them updated with real-time notifications through SMS, email or weblink.

2) Enable customers to book their pick-up time

Another great way to limit the number of people in your store and encourage social distancing is by enabling customers to book particular time-slots using appointment scheduling software. This means customers only come into your store for a short amount of time, and it gives your team an adequate amount of time to prepare their orders in advance.

3) Invest in curbside pick-up

Another brilliant initiative many leading retailers are investing in is curbside pick-up – where customers let you know when they are ready to collect an online order (through SMS, email or weblink), and your staff can bring the order out to them at their cars. This eliminates the need for customers to enter your store completely and it provides them with a streamlined service.

Find out more about optimizing your in-store pick-up process during Covid-19: