Omnichannel. BOPIS. Curbside Pick-up. Same Day Delivery. These are the new table stakes in the retail business today as shopping patterns drastically change due to the ongoing pandemic. Retailers have had to virtually reinvent themselves to survive and maintain their business during his unprecedented era.
But particularly for retailers in the lighting business, what might work in other sectors is not necessarily the solution for their models. The nature of the products they sell and the way consumers purchase lighting can be far different than in sectors like food, apparel and even other parts of the greater home furnishings business.
Executives from Lamps Plus addressed all of this on a recent webinar “The New Store Experience Imperatives in High-Touch Retail,” sponsored by the tech supplier Incisiv. While overall retail has seen dramatic increases in both BOPIS (Buy online, pick-up in store) and curbside pick-up, Lamps Plus has not seen the same results.
“BOPIS and curbside haven’t resonated so much with our customers,” said Clark Linstone, chief operating officer for the 36-unit California based company. “We found they wanted to come in our store and see the products in person,” Linstone said
He said the nature of lighting products also impacted the popularity of curbside pick-up. “We have big, bulky products so for our customers home delivery is just much easier.”
Coordinating the overall omnichannel shopping process is also a challenge as retailers work to sync up their in-store inventories with what’s being shown online. “Technology is taxing the entire system,” said Bill Gratke, vice president of supply chain, planning and reporting for the retailer.
He said the inefficiencies of the overall supply chain are becoming especially apparent during the pandemic. “Nobody is getting their deliveries in two days anymore and they aren’t blaming the carrier, they are blaming the retailer.” He said retailers need to do a better job of explaining the nature of the problem to their customers so they understand exactly what is going on.
Linstone said Lamps Plus has put “buffers” into its inventory when it comes to drop ship programs direct from its vendors “so as to not disappoint our customers. We have to take items off sale if we see vendor inventory levels below a certain level even if it means we have to give up a sale.”
For retailers like Lamps Plus and others, this period has been a learning process as they work out new procedures and methods. But he believes they will get through it and ultimately their customers will continue to shop at the store and online. “People will come back to us if they have had a good experience.”