.\u00a0<\/strong>That leaves less room for more discretionary purchases like apparel, consumer electronics or a DIY project for the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo win over shoppers, retailers are focusing on improving the experience. One important draw is offering several shopping options, according to Conor Flynn, the chief executive of Kimco Realty. The real estate investment firm was early to the omnichannel trend, working with its retail tenants to put in their branded neon green designated parking signs in its shopping centers. The company even trademarked \u201ccurbside pickup\u201d right before the pandemic hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think consumer habits and behavior is changing so rapidly that there isn\u2019t sort of one thing that is consistent across the board,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like how you shop for groceries today \u2014 there\u2019s no consistency. People go to like three different grocery stores for three different things. And I think the same goes for how people shop \u2014 whether it\u2019s online, or in-store, or curbside, or buy online \u2014 they sort of want the menu of options that works and whatever works for them that day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The options are particularly helpful for shoppers with young children. Jelisa Osouna, a single mother in Newport News, Va., opts for curbside pickup whenever her 1-year-old daughter is with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very convenient if I need to grab something really quick,\u201d Osouna, 30, said, adding that it saves her from having to lug her daughter and the car seat out of her car. \u201cIt can be a lot sometimes, so curbside is perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages during the pandemic also shifted expectations for consumers about wait time for online delivery orders. People realized that curbside and BOPIS are often faster, Cullen said. These changes allowed retailers to shave costs by persuading their customers to drive their own cars, using their own gas, in their own time, to pick up their items from the store. The BOPIS model also creates opportunities for shoppers to pick up some more items when they go inside to retrieve their online order, Flynn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou get the halo effect,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd that\u2019s really powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Amanda Wise said she uses curbside pickup, in part, to avoid impulse spending. \u201cThe problem with Target is as soon as you go in, it\u2019s hard to leave without spending at least $100,\u201d the 34-year-old from Raleigh, N.C., said. Wise added that prices at some stores are cheaper online and she can use coupons and take advantage of cash-back apps or browser extensions when she buys ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most major retailers don\u2019t charge for curbside pickup as long as customers meet an order minimum, generally at least $30 to $35. But that could change, Chad Lusk, a retail consultant at Alvarez and Marsal, said, noting that Sam\u2019s Club recently added a $4 fee for customers who don\u2019t have the premium membership, Sam\u2019s Club Plus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs in-store shopping meaningfully returns, retailers now have to start comparing the cost of curbside fulfillment using additional labor to in-store purchases,\u201d he said, adding that Sam\u2019s Club\u2019s move could be used \u201cas a way to [incentivize] consumers fully back into stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Hoyler, a retail consultant with Euromonitor International, said he wouldn\u2019t be surprised if other warehouse clubs like Costco or BJ\u2019s Wholesale Club also adopted fees because customers are mostly drawn to the bulk discounts. But he doesn\u2019t believe fees would go over well at grocery stores, particularly among consumers who choose curbside over delivery services like Instacart and Shipt to avoid the added cost, including tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a curbside user is struggling financially and the grocer decides to tack on a fee, \u201cyou better believe [those shoppers] are going to be investigating the alternatives immediately,\u201d Hoyler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFurther down the spectrum, we\u2019re seeing the grocery space invest in microfulfillment centers, automated facilities that picks and stages orders for both in-store pickup and at-home delivery, separate from the store itself,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microfulfillment centers, which are often used for one- or two-hour delivery, are particularly effective in densely populated regions. But they aren\u2019t prevalent in rural areas, Cullen noted. Instead, omnichannel shopping options are particularly beneficial to those communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCommentary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis topic of curbside pickup being a larger part of the grocery shopping experience after COVID is part of what Honda wants us to explore. The statistic that 33 percent of adults younger than 50 who started using curbside pickup during the pandemic say it\u2019s a habit they expect to continue is the first step of proving that. From this article, there are many pros and cons of curbside pickup that each retailer is trying to improve on their own. Pros include convenience, time saving, usable for many types of customers (single parents, college students, elderly, etc.), and a possible money saver depending on the shopping. The cons that this article mentions is the possibility of extra charges for the service. The article seems to anticipate that customers will always take the cheaper, easier option. This can be true most of the time however, again based on that first statistic, it seems a good amount of customers are sticking with curbside pickup because of the routine of it. Although it may not please all customers, I think we will be seeing this ease of use and routine pros of curbside pickup be more common. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With inflation causing consumers to change their spending habits, major retailers are leaning into \u201comnichannel\u201d shopping options to draw in customers Published: August 28th, 2002 Writers: Jaclyn Peiser Link: https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2022\/08\/28\/curbside-pickup-shopping\/ Curbside pickup, BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) and other \u201comnichannel\u201d approaches meant to make shopping seamless no matter the point of purchase \u2014 in-store, by phone, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":15577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[413,116,414],"class_list":{"0":"post-15576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-focus","8":"tag-curbside-pick","9":"tag-focus","10":"tag-groceries"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15576"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17122,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15576\/revisions\/17122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}