Does Curbside Pickup Still Work After the Pandemic?

The past two years have been a rollercoaster for many businesses. Some have seen exponential growth, while others have been suffering and trying to keep afloat. With the pandemic, companies became more creative to combat the restrictions.

Curbside pickup is one of these alternatives. Businesses were able to continue selling their items even when clients could not enter their locations because of it. Is it, however, still a feasible option?

Is Curbside Pickup Still Profitable Now and After the Pandemic?

If you haven’t yet offered curbside pickup due to not needing it before, you might think that starting now isn’t worth the effort.

That’s because you’ll need to spend precious resources and train your staff for the change before it becomes profitable. Furthermore, there is a chance that the epidemic may be over shortly. So, what's the point?

There is only one reason for this! Many individuals are concerned that COVID-19 will return as the 4th wave. As a result, most people will wait a little longer before reverting to their regular purchasing habits. According to Vox, most Americans will continue social distancing even when it’s over.

So, the answer is yes, the curbside pickup is still profitable!

How to Make Curbside Pickup Available on Your Store?

Step #1 - Create An Online Store

If you haven’t yet created an e-commerce store for your physical store, then you’re missing out on a lot of revenue! More than 80% of people shopped online in 2020. So if you haven’t started your online store yet, then this is one of the last times to do that. Use Shopify, Shoplazza, WordPress, or any platform you like.

Step #2 - Plan Out Your Curbside Pickup Service

Now that you’ve got your online store, it’s time to start planning how you will implement this service. That will help you begin your curbside pickup service smoothly without any hiccups.

First, I’d suggest you think about where your customer will come to pick you up. Then think about how they intend to pay for it. Are they going to pay online? Or are they going to use cash?

Whatever you do, make it as simple as possible. That way, you won’t frustrate anyone when trying to purchase something from you.

Then I also suggest you plan how long it will take to implement and how much it will cost. Think of everything from employee training to the cost of the tools for your store.

Step #3 - Implement Curbside Pickup For Your Online Store

Now that you've planned out your curbside pickup strategy, it's time to go to work on putting it into action. Just follow through on all you've planned, and you'll be OK. When you're ready to accept clients, proceed to the last stage.

Step #4 - Announce your Curbside Pickup

All that is left is to announce that your store has a curbside pickup. Without an announcement, nobody is going to use it. Promote it through your social media channels and mailing lists and let everybody know about it.

Aside from informing customers that your company offers curbside pickup, you should explain everything to them as thoroughly as possible:

• How can they pay for your goods? Online or with cash/credit card?
• Where to pick up their goods?
• And so on.

This will help you avoid a lot of uncertainty, which is beneficial for both employees and consumers.

Conclusion

During the epidemic, many are concerned about the social distance and prefer to purchase online. Curbside pickup would be an effective model to encourage clients to buy without worrying about shipment restrictions. Since the pandemic isn't going away anytime soon, curbside delivery will continue to be profitable for your e-commerce business.

(Contributed by Andreas Ojala & Hermes Fang)