Leave it to the retail industry to try to put lipstick on a pig when sales don’t meet investor expectations. The latest lipstick shade sounds really attractive. Have you heard the false claims that the BOPIS trend is accelerating? What is BOPIS? BOPIS = Buy Online Pick Up In Store. We are told that this growing trend will save traditional retail. “Really – oh please say it!”
You see, the only reason more consumers are doing this ‘buy online, pick up in store’ thing is because they don’t have a choice. When you go shopping at a retailer expecting to find what you’re looking for, it’s not there. Why? Because the retail chains are not profitable and cannot afford to stock merchandise in their stores. We all know why, and we can say it out loud in unison if he wants to; Amazon.
An article in BizTech Online (12/2018) states; “Allowing customers to buy online and pick up in store, also known as ‘click and collect,’ is here to stay.” Another article in Dallas Market Center News published on January 9, 2019 titled; “2019 Retail Trend: Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS)” states that “BOPIS is one of the fastest growing trends in retail and a strategic tool for brick-and-mortar retailers trying to compete with on-line sellers.” pure line”.
Now the first item makes it sound like retailers are doing the customer a favor by ‘allowing’ them to shop online and then conveniently have it shipped to the store for pickup. Well, this is not a strategy, rather a tragedy. The only reason you would go to a physical store in the first place is to check out what you are buying, examine it, make a decision, and then make your purchase and walk out of the store with the merchandise right then and there. .
Face it, retailers are not doing this because they want to serve the customer better, no they are doing it because they are failing and cannot compete with online sellers, without the high costs of leasing retail space, selling the same product for less. money. I wouldn’t call this a trend so much as I would call it proof that the major retailers are on their last leg. For many of them, failure and bankruptcy are imminent.
Sure, retailers could include their entire so-called BOPIS strategy in their quarterly earnings reports as if this trend were preferred by customers and satisfying to consumers. In fact; it’s not. The old Sears Catalog strategy was somewhat similar. You can buy many of the most popular items at their department stores and order anything else through their catalog and pick it up at their stores. Tell me my good friend and retail sales expert; How is Sears doing today?
Consumers are not making BOPIS purchases because they prefer, no, they are doing it because they often feel they have no other choice. Retailers who claim to specialize in multiple categories such as commercial products, home décor, pet supplies, shoes, etc. but they don’t have the actual products in their stores, they are ripe to become the next bankruptcy flop of the retail chain.
You don’t want to go into a retailer and expect to find something, only to find the big box store with a lot of extra space and an inventory selection with little clothing. Then to be said; “sorry, but you can order it from our online store” and pick it up here tomorrow. That means you probably have to go home, go online, order it, and then come back again. Are we being told that this is ‘convenient’ and a new retail trend and strategy? WHAT are retail executive tuxedos? They should never have legalized that.
This bogus BOPIS strategy does not compete with Amazon. It’s just proving that Amazon has won the retail war. It’s time to ditch the retail stocks in your portfolio. If you work in retail, this might be a good time to sharpen your resume. Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying
