Shop online and pick up in-store

A lot of articles on the Internet (for instance iMedia, getElastic, searchengineland) and our own data indicate that people like to buy online, but prefer to close the deal off-line.

A lot of people on our comparison sites check the shop information page to see whether a merchant has a physical pick-up location. We also conducted usability research which confirmed this behavior. The reason why people show this kind of behavior is simple. If a merchant has a pick-up location it implies the following:

• the merchant actually exists, so your money will not disappear into thin air
• you can pick the item up yourself, thus saving shipping costs
• you can pick the item up today (if the product is available)
• you can pick the item up at your own convenience, so it will not be delivered when you are not at home (which is really annoying)
• if the product does not work correctly, you can return it easily there where you picked it up

Bottom-line is that a pick-up location offers consumers safety. So, if you are a merchant and already provide your customers with a physical pick-up location then you cannot really improve here… Sorry for that. But, if you do not offer pick-up locations, start focusing on it! Even if you are a small merchant, there are good solutions, like Kiala or TNT (Post Servicepoints).

Some other tips to help you improve the customer experience when they choose to pick-up the product:

• Phone number and hours in all email communication is imperative
• Include what to expect/pick-up instructions in email order and/or ready for pick-up confirmations
• Driving instructions within pick-up confirmation are a nice touch
• Bar codes in email pick-up correspondence speed up in-store processing
• Provide estimated pick-up times (how long merchandise will be held) or if sending to a store, indicate expected arrival date
• Allow enough time to pick-up merchandise, factoring in unexpected circumstances
• Send shoppers return confirmation email to close communication loop

The tips mentioned above were taken from e-taildetail. Thanks for that!