Curbside Pickups – The service re-innovation of Pandemic

With pandemic in full force, and an increased awareness about the social distancing norms, curbside
pickups had become the unexpected norm in America. Curbside pickup lets your customers make an
order online and pick it up at your store, warehouse, or designated pickup location. Deriving its
existence from a similar McDonald’s drive thru, this order fulfillment service is a way to increase
sales and customer satisfaction. The model is designed to offer convenience, flexibility, and speed to
customers.

Here is a typical example of how Curbside Pickup works:

1. An online shopper makes a purchase and marks it as

a curbside pickup order
2. the online order reaches a store’s point of sale
3. the inventory’s location is identified
4. Inventory is picked or prepared for staging
5. Inventory is staged in a dedicated pickup area
6. Store staff identify the correct order (ideally when
the customer has almost arrived) and transfer the order to the customer

As per Oliver Chen, retail analyst at Cowen Curbside provides a hybrid between driving & shopping
from retail stores, both of which are the Americans’ favorite. The same is translated in the post
pandemic era. The pandemic only increased the adoption rate of the service, and the very fact that
retail stores like Target have posted a 700% growth in drive thru pickups during Q2 in 2020 and
sustained the same over 500% YoY growth over following quarter is a result of the convenience
provide by Curbside pickups.

The trends have shown that the Curbside pickup is here to stay as Jonathan Roque rightly mentioned
– “Adoption of curbside pickup was accelerated by the pandemic. Now that restrictions are
beginning to ease in many countries, the popularity of this service continues to grow. This is thanks
to the incredible convenience it provides both merchants and their customers.” Following
summarizes the benefits offered to customers and retailers via curbside pickups:

1. Convenience & Flexibility: Customer can get the products at their convenience
2. Reduced Cost: Retailers save on shipping and logistics
3. Order fulfillment guarantee: By customer picking the product themselves, the absurdity of
order delivery is almost immediately fulfilled.

Therefore, basis the benefits that Curbside Pickups provide to both the merchant and customers, the
service has become a norm in enhancing customer satisfaction.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/business/curbside-pickup-is-another-innovation-that-is-
likely-to-outlast-the-pandemic.html#after-bottom

https://www.syte.ai/blog/ecommerce-trends/the-rise-of-curbside-pickup-temporary-or-here-to-
stay/

https://www.supplychainbrain.com/blogs/1-think-tank/post/32670-the-evolution-and-future-of-
retail-curbside-delivery