Definition
Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) is a retail fulfillment model where a customer places an order through a digital channel (website, app, marketplace) and collects the items at a physical store location.
In marketing, BOPIS is an omnichannel experience pattern that connects digital demand generation (ads, email, SEO, app push, marketplace listings) with in-store fulfillment. It is commonly used to improve convenience, reduce shipping friction, and increase store traffic that can lead to additional purchases.
How to calculate
BOPIS is typically measured through adoption, conversion, speed, and operational reliability metrics. Common calculations include:
- BOPIS adoption rate = (BOPIS orders ÷ total online orders) × 100
- BOPIS conversion rate = (BOPIS orders ÷ BOPIS checkout sessions) × 100
- Order ready time = timestamp(order ready) − timestamp(order placed)
- On-time readiness rate (SLA compliance) = (orders ready within promised window ÷ total BOPIS orders) × 100
- Pickup completion rate = (picked-up orders ÷ total BOPIS orders) × 100
- No-show / abandonment rate = (unclaimed or canceled-at-pickup-window orders ÷ total BOPIS orders) × 100
- Attachment rate (incremental add-ons) = (BOPIS orders with additional in-store or pickup add-ons ÷ total BOPIS orders) × 100
- BOPIS AOV vs ship-to-home AOV lift = ((BOPIS AOV − ship-to-home AOV) ÷ ship-to-home AOV) × 100
- Cost per fulfilled order (operational) = (labor + materials + shrink/fraud + handling overhead) ÷ fulfilled BOPIS orders
How to utilize
Common BOPIS use cases in marketing and customer experience delivery include:
- Convenience positioning: Promote “ready in X hours” or “pickup today” messaging to reduce delivery wait-time objections.
- Inventory-led merchandising: Use “available for pickup near you” inventory signals to increase conversion on high-intent traffic.
- Local store growth: Route customers to nearby stores with localized promos, store-level assortments, and pickup-only offers.
- Cost-to-serve management: Shift eligible orders away from shipping when margins are tight (especially on bulky or low-margin items).
- Peak season resilience: Offer pickup as a delivery alternative when carrier capacity is constrained or cutoffs are missed.
- Loyalty and retention: Tie pickup to loyalty perks (faster pickup windows, dedicated lanes, bonus points, member-only pickup deals).
- Cross-sell opportunities: Present “add to pickup” recommendations during checkout and in pre-pickup notifications.
Compare to similar approaches
| Approach | Customer receives item | Where inventory is fulfilled | Typical promise | Operational dependency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOPIS | At a store pickup point | Store | Same day to a few days | Real-time inventory, store picking/staging | Often increases store visits and add-on purchases |
| Curbside pickup | Outside the store | Store | Same day to a few days | BOPIS requirements + runner workflow | Lower friction for customers; higher labor intensity |
| Ship-to-home | Delivered to address | DC and/or store | 1–7+ days | Carrier performance, packaging, shipping costs | Scales well; higher last-mile cost |
| Same-day delivery | Delivered to address | Store and/or local facility | Hours | Local delivery network, accurate inventory | Competes with pickup on speed; can cost more |
| Ship-from-store | Delivered to address | Store | 1–5 days | Store labor + carrier pickup | Improves inventory utilization; adds store complexity |
| Reserve Online, Pick Up in Store (ROPIS) | At store, paid in store | Store | Varies | Inventory accuracy, in-store checkout | Lower online payment friction; weaker digital attribution |
| Buy Online, Return In Store (BORIS) | Return at store | Store | N/A | Returns ops + policy alignment | Complements BOPIS; reduces return shipping costs |
Best practices
- Inventory accuracy first: Near-real-time availability, safety stock buffers for pickup-eligible SKUs, and store-level inventory audits.
- Clear pickup promises: Transparent readiness windows, pickup instructions, and what happens if items are unavailable.
- Low-friction communications: Order confirmation, “ready for pickup,” reminders, and easy pickup handoff via SMS/app/email.
- Operational design: Dedicated staging areas, pick paths, substitution rules, staffing models, and training for peak periods.
- Identity and fraud controls: ID verification policies appropriate to product category and risk; minimize false positives that block pickup.
- Returns alignment: Make returns and exchanges consistent across online and store to avoid channel conflict.
- Measurement discipline: Track SLA compliance, cancellations due to stock issues, attachment rate, and customer satisfaction by store.
Future trends
- More precise fulfillment promises: Dynamic “ready by” times based on store workload, staffing, and real inventory confidence.
- Pickup automation: Lockers, kiosks, and automated backroom staging to reduce labor and shorten handoff times.
- Personalized pickup experiences: Store-specific recommendations, pickup-window incentives, and loyalty-based service tiers.
- Smarter inventory positioning: Predictive allocation to stores based on local demand signals and pickup propensity.
- Agentic commerce impacts: Customer agents selecting pickup locations and windows based on preferences, availability, and time cost.
Related Terms
- Omnichannel commerce
- Curbside pickup
- Click and collect
- Ship-from-store
- Same-day delivery
- Inventory visibility
- Order management system (OMS)
- Customer journey orchestration (CJO)
- Recommerce
- Returns management system (RMS)
- Store fulfillment
- Buy Online, Return In Store (BORIS)