For many retailers, the upcoming holiday shopping season will account for a large portion of their annual sales — and profits. Holiday planning is generally done well in advance by retailers, and multichannel retailers must be prepared for seamless purchase transactions.

Consider these observations by Jonathan Levitt, writing for Multichannel Merchant: 

“In-store pickup is one omnichannel feature that can go amazingly well – or frightfully wrong – depending on how you execute.  Fighting back against the much-hyped threats of showrooming and same-day delivery, many omnichannel retailers now let customers buy or reserve products online, and then pick them up in-store. In-store fulfillment has proved extremely popular among shoppers because it combines the best of both worlds: the convenience of online or mobile shopping and the immediate satisfaction of in-store purchases.”

“But here’s the rub; in-store pickup only works if the process is glitch-free. From the standpoint of execution, it can go wrong quickly – turning off shoppers and negatively impacting the retailer’s brand. Customers want to easily find the pick-up location, get efficient and friendly customer service, and avoid long lines. If customers have the opposite experience, they’ll not only never use in-store pickup again, but may never shop with that retailer again!”

Click the image to read more from Multichannel Merchant.