BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In Store) is a new buzzword that’s driving growth for big box retailers in the fast-fulfillment Amazon era. Surveys show that a growing number of U.S. consumers prefer to pick up their online purchases in-store so they can avoid long lines and, in some cases, human interaction.

Coresight Research yesterday reported key findings from its April 2019 survey of U.S. online shoppers, which explored their use of buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) services. Here’s what Coresight found:

  • Some 46 percent of U.S. online shoppers have collected one or more online purchases from a physical store in the past 12 months. BOPIS users are slightly younger and more affluent than the average online shopper.
  • By number of shoppers, apparel is the most-collected category and, despite being an occasional purchase category, electronics rank second. This nudges electronics ahead of groceries in third place.
  • Reflecting their breadth of assortment and substantial store networks, Walmart and Target are the most popular retailers from which U.S. consumers pick up online orders. Two category-specialist retailers, Best Buy and Home Depot, captured third and fourth places, respectively.
  • Given that department stores sell a wide range of merchandise that includes more frequently bought categories than electronics or home-improvement goods, the rankings for some major department stores were disappointing.