Online Grocery Shopping and Store Pickup Trends Accelerated by the Pandemic are Now Slowing

ChaseDesign survey reveals supermarket customers are dissatisfied with BOPIS due to out-of-stocks, product quality/freshness issues, substitutions and wait times

About 50% of grocery shoppers began buying online and picking up in store during the pandemic, but only half of those customers will continue this behavior in the future, according to new research by ChaseDesign, the human-centered design agency. Buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) programs allow customers to purchase items online and collect them at the retailer store rather than getting it delivered.

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The ChaseDesign BOPIS survey show shoppers want to be in control – 54% prefer to pick items out in person and 40% want the experience of shopping in a physical store. These customers also encountered a degree of frustration with the BOPIS experience, citing product availability, quality, items missing from order and wait times as the leading challenges they faced.

Critically for traditional retailers, when shoppers buy products online for pick up at store or delivery to home, shoppers tend to avoid some of the most profitable categories due to concerns over freshness and selection. Nearly half BOPIS shoppers won’t buy meat / seafood, about 40% avoid dairy, produce and frozen products, about 35% won’t order deli or bakery and 31% get t heir healthcare/personal care items through another channel.

“Retailers devoted most of their resources during the last 15 months on accommodating shoppers who wanted to avoid the store for safety reasons by upgrading their digital presence and installing new systems for store pickup and delivery. As those shoppers return to physical stores in droves, and as restaurants start competing for more of the food dollar, successful retailers will turn their attention to making their real estate more engaging than ever before,” said Joe Lampertius, President at ChaseDesign.

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Other key findings in the ChaseDesign BOPIS survey include:

  • 40% of people report waiting 10 minutes or more for their BOPIS orders
  • 90% of shoppers still go into store when picking up an order
  • Walmart, Target and Kroger are delivering best experience for BOPIS shoppers
  • Shoppers have become highly reliant on retailer apps for both a better in-store and BOPIS/delivery experience

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