The coronavirus pandemic is sparking enormous changes in e-commerce over a very short period of time. The second half of March saw eCommerce sales have surged 25% over the first half of the month. BOPIS or Buy Online Pickup in Store, now converted to Curbside Pickup, is picking up most of the growth with a 62% increase, according to Adobe Digital Insights. But not every retailer has the skillset, budget, time or whatever other limitations might exist to initiate a contactless commerce experience. Nor are they able to make it scalable and this is making some retail brands like Norco Bicycles to respond to support their dealer network.
Norco Bicycles Moves to Curbside Pickup & Local Delivery
With gym’s closed, family’s getting cabin fever, and many looking to avoid public transportation bicycles has seen a resurgence. Our customer Norco Bicycles is supporting its retailers with a system where consumers can buy on Norco’s website with either curbside pickup or local delivery. The dealer gets paid cash as if they sold the item themselves and is actively trying to get more consumers to buy in this fashion.
“The majority of bikes we are selling right now are Norco’s because we’re directing customers to their website to buy with how easy it is and avoid contact with COVID-19” says Dan Fiorito of Rollin’ Thunder, a Norco dealer in Thunder Bay. “The system is easy for both ourselves and the consumer, and is as close to our own sale as possible. We’re hoping other vendors look at adopting this system, it’s much more scalable and polished than other solutions we’ve come across. The best part is it pays us cash in hand rather than manufacturer credits. I have a new baby on the way and we can’t buy groceries or diapers with manufacturer credits.’
Contactless Pickup/Delivery Becomes the New Reality in Short-Term
During hard times, working together has never become so important. You work together already offline through B2B but now we are seeing partnerships move online as well to limit exposure and risk while still conducting commerce. “We know retail partners are focused on providing incredible in store customer experience and are limited in their ability to scale a curbside pickup or local delivery program. Brands now have an opportunity to take a leadership approach to give its retail partners the tools to adapt to our current environment to safely keep commerce and inventory flowing with Online to Offline Commerce.” says ShipEarly CEO Nick Kolobutin.
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Sell Contactless to Make it Easier for Consumers to Buy & Dealers to Sell
Keep reading to discover the benefits a consumer experience strategy can have on your organization, but if you’d like an executive guide distilling everything, download The Enterprise Guide to Omni-Channel Contactless Ecommerce.
Inside, you’ll get one-pagers detailing …
Comprehensive data on the opportunities and threats
Merchant spotlights for insights on combining sales channels to create better CX
A checklist to consider when implementing an omni-channel program
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“This could go on for a few months and even after consumers might be hesitant around visiting retail stores. However, physical retail isn’t going away as consumers are truly going to see the value of buying from a neighboring store to support the local economy bounce back. Those brands with aggressive online only strategies will suffer over the long-term with reduced loyalty from high volume merchants. It’s in the best interest of every brand to keep physical retail strong and healthy to combat Amazon’s aggressive private label strategy that seeks to eliminate brands in an online only World.”
You’ve built your business around partners. You’ve selected the right way to move your business forward as you believe the collective is better than going at it alone to reach as many consumers as possible. But you are worried about those relationships and how you can support your dealers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many retailers are struggling to do commerce with their stores closed or reduced hours with line-ups out the door and unsophisticated eCommerce platforms to handle the new reality of contactless selling.
What is your channel strategy for the imminent future and remainder of 2020? See our solution overview or request a demo to learn more.
