Curbside pickup
solutions just
got better—
thanks to sensors

Curbside pickup solutions were one of many technology innovations that saw a huge increase in use due to the pandemic. The number of retailers offering curbside pickup rose from 6.9% in December 2019 to 43.7% in August 2020.

The total buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) market, which includes both in-person and curbside collection (also known as BOPAC or buy online, pick up at curb), doubled between 2019 and 2020, and analysis suggests it will be worth $140 billion by 2024.

While this growth is impressive, the BOPAC market is not without its challenges. Customers surveyed about their curbside and in-store experiences have noted the following issues as most important to their experience:

• Having a clear designated pickup location
• Easy online account creation
• Providing contactless pickup
• Having orders ready when promised
• Order accuracy

Meanwhile, the benefits of BOPIS/curbside have also been recognized by businesses. A survey of retail executives found ongoing investment is being made in personalization (27%), substitutions (21%), upselling (15%), and data security (15%) technologies. The same survey found challenges to a smooth customer experience identified by retailers include staffing (73%), inventory accuracy (45%), associate training (39%), customer awareness (27%), and technology (18%).

Among the various curbside pickup solutions, the increased use of sensors has the possibility to streamline the entire process, improve customer experience, and support the workers that keep orders in food and retail flowing. Here's a look at how sensors paired with curbside pickup software could change the curbside game.

A big key to the success of this retail transformation is simplifying the complex process of preparing retail orders, which involves multiple moving parts, including inventory monitoring, curbside pickup software development and management, and tracking curbside wait times. Sensor technology can help simplify some of the complexity in these areas.

Sensors report to a central system and integrate with curbside pickup software, tracking items and possibly even customer locations. This small level of automation can save precious seconds per order—which can add up over time to potentially days' worth of improved service.

Inventory sensors for retail can track when supplies are running low, and curbside order sensors can notify staff when a guest has arrived to pick up an order. Inside the business, staff can see an alert informing them how long a customer has been waiting, possibly even letting them know when a wait has been too long. This sort of "triage" system helps employees prioritize orders and reduces wait time for customers.

Connected technology, like sensors, can refresh the retail customer experience in a number of practical and valuable ways, including:

Sensor technology can be used to manage capacity control in the area of curbside pickup solutions. Queue management technology, for example, can be used in stores to inform people of their wait status. While this technology removes the need for physical lines, it can also be applied to people waiting in their cars, letting customers know when they can come to the designated pickup location to collect their retail orders.

As noted above, one of the most common challenges customers face during the curbside pickup experience is long wait times. Sensors can be used to automatically let staff know when a customer has arrived for pickup, eliminating the unreliable process of text and call notifications. These sensors also take the burden away from the customers to move the order process along. Automated location-triggered pickup instructions can also remove any uncertainty over where customers should go for collection.

Curbside pickup software combined with outdoor digital displays can improve communication and help streamline the collection process. For example, the displays can guide the customer through all stages of pickup, provide relevant alerts about order readiness or pickup location, and also be used to advertise additional services and offers. Sensors, partnered with artificial intelligence (AI), can help you provide some of the highly personalized experiences retailers offer in-store, such as discounts based on shopping history, to enhance the customer experience.

This communication can continue even after collection has taken place. Post-pickup incentives are a great way to maintain the relationship. Some retailers ask for "curbside reviews" in exchange for a discount on a future purchase—this helps promote not only the brand but the fact that it offers curbside pickup. Alternatively, offers for repeat-purchase products can be triggered to time up with the standard time it takes for a repeat purchase of a particular product.

Curbside pickup technology can also help address previously mentioned customer concerns around order accuracy and timeliness. Warehouse and store-based sensors can ensure inventory accuracy, preventing the situation when a customer orders a product online and only discovers it is not in stock when curbside. Currently, many orders are ready for curbside collection within an hour. Associates can alert customers when a product they ordered is not in stock and suggest available alternatives.

According to a 2021 survey, 62% of online shoppers in the U.S. expect retailers to offer curbside pickup. Curbside collection and other contactless options are particularly popular with younger demographics, with 72% of shoppers aged 18–29 preferring options other than regular cashier checkout. Developing your curbside pickup solutions will help you stay in front of ever-evolving retail customer expectations.

A streamlined pickup experience also improves the employee experience. Customers who know what to expect and the best way to communicate are a benefit for employees—and workers who know how to fill orders efficiently and quickly can be empowered to provide even better service.

Retail service leaders who are ready to launch enhanced experiences for their customers and staff will find growing benefits from using sensors to improve even their existing curbside pickup software and solutions.

Many businesses might feel they may not need to update their tech with these options because their current system of relying on the customer to text or call when they arrive appears to work well. However, there can be issues with the traditional process.

Requiring a customer to contact the business to initiate pickup means you are reliant on the customer communicating with you in a timely manner and in a way you understand. This can leave room for errors, like a customer texting the wrong number, which can diminish the customer experience and ultimately impact the retail business.

Further, this method may be unnecessarily labor intensive for staff. They have to spend more time communicating with customers to coordinate pickup, and because they have less visibility on who is waiting and for how long, they have less ability to plan ahead.