Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Edit: One evolution that some stores (Circuit City, Wal-Mart) have tried/are trying is online shopping of the local storefront. This goes ship-to-store one better: online orders are fullfilled from B&M stock so the consumer can buy online, drive to the storefront, and take delivery right there. It takes the uncertainty out of driving to the B&M site and maximizes sales per square foot. If combined with POD it can provide the deep catalog of online buying with the instant gratification of B&M shopping.
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Ship to store is an option well worth pursuing...but you do have to execute flawlessly.
As an example, I decided to buy a flat screen TV as a gift this Xmas, and I found a good deal at WM.com and ordered it for ship-to-store. The ordering process was easy, and while it took about a week for the item to get to the store, that was fine as I ordered in early December. It's also nice that they keep it at the store and you have three weeks to pick it up, so you don't have to conceal it around the house someplace (which is difficult with a large TV anyway). If you don't pick it up on time, they send it back and refund your card.
WM was also good at sending e-mails letting me know that it had arrived, etc. So after two weeks (Dec. 19th), I go to pick up my TV. I'm initially concerned that I will have to wait in the long customer service line...but no, you go to a different desk in the back for ship-to-store items. So I go there, and they find my and my TV in the system...but they can't find the TV in the back. They spend 15 minutes looking and still can't find it - reading between the lines, they either gave it to the wrong person or it was stolen. To make matters worse, while if I didn't pick it up my money would be refunded automatically, since I showed up, I had to take a voucher to the long CS line to get a refund on my card. With the end result that I waited more than 30 minutes to *not* buy a TV at WM.
I got a small amount of satisfaction due to the fact that I was able to order a similar (slightly better, slightly more expensive) TV from Amazon on my iPhone while waiting in the CS line; with Amazon Prime, it showed up at my house two days later.
So, yes, in theory ship to store is great. But if people are going to make a point of going to your store to pick up what they ordered, it needs to be there.