Dive Brief:
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Omnichannel efforts like in-store pickup of online orders have hit a few snags this holiday season, the Washington Post reports.
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Shoppers have complained that they aren’t properly notified, that orders are canceled at the last minute due to lack of inventory, or that they wait too long to pick up their orders.
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Generally, consumers have responded well to having the option to pick up online orders in store, also known as “click and collect,” but with some 60% of such orders getting held up this holiday season, many are frustrated with the process.
Dive Insight:
The holiday season is proving to be quite a test of omnichannel efforts like click and collect, but the high volumes in many cases are making it difficult to keep a tight account of inventories.
"During a random Tuesday six months ago, stores could just muscle through it if there was a problem,” Steve Osburn, a supply chain expert at consultancy Kurt Salmon told the Washington Post. “When it’s low volumes, you can hide that. The problem throughout the holiday season is that everybody’s time is 100% allocated.”
In order to get a handle on services like click and collect, retailers will have to figure out how to better manage their supply chain and their staff resources, especially at the holidays.
In the meantime, though, some retailers have given their customers a reason not to trust the service again any time soon.
“I will never do in-store pickup ever again, that’s how bad it was for me,” Metairie, LA shopper Kim Melanin, who waited for her pickup order for more than an hour, told the Washington Post.
