How to Turn BOPIS Into a Revenue Driver

Buy online, pick up in-store. Five words that sound simple … until a wrong item turns an excited customer into a lost one.

BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store), BOSS (buy online, ship to store), and BORIS (buy online, return in-store) have evolved from convenience features into measurable revenue channels. The math is compelling: a store processing 300 pickup orders weekly with a 70 percent attach rate on $50 add-ons generates roughly $10,500 in incremental sales. Annualized, that approaches half a million dollars per location.

But here's the catch: unhappy customers don't buy more. You don't get that upsell if the fundamentals are shaky.

Accuracy is the New Ambience

Customers arrive primed to be happy. They just made a purchase and are excited to receive it. Nothing kills that buzz faster than a missing item or wrong size. It's a broken promise, and competitors are happy to take that customer away.

The solution is treating store fulfillment with the same rigor as distribution center operations. Track perfect order rates, mispick rates, and promise-versus-actual readiness times. Flag high-risk SKUs with low stock or frequent variances. Scan-verify when inventory arrives, and double-check flagged items before marking orders ready.

Every avoided escalation preserves the customer's mood — and their openness to add-ons during the BOPIS experience.

Borrow Warehouse Best Practices

Warehouses win on predictability. Bring that same rhythm into back-of-house operations by measuring pick-to-stage cycle times, monitoring staging area utilization, and tracking late-order queues with visible displays.

Run mini-waves for in-store picks rather than large batches. Stage high-velocity items in accessible locations. Standardize flows for curbside, service desk, and register pickups so associates aren't context-switching during peak hours.

Predictable readiness gives associates the bandwidth to suggest complementary items. That's your path to consistent attach rates.

Design the Selling Moment

Don't leave attach rates to chance. Consider the customer's path from entrance to pickup counter. Place curated displays with accessories, care items, and seasonal tie-ins beside pickup points. Arm associates with simple scripts and add point-of-sale prompts for common complements.

Unified commerce isn't just a technology strategy; it's an execution discipline. When you push warehouse-grade key performance indicators into your stores, associates can stage confidently, hand off on time, and convert satisfied customers into bigger baskets, all while maintaining a complete, accurate view into inventory no matter where it lives.

Iterate Quickly

One of the fastest ways to destroy customer experience is the lag between identifying a problem and responding to it. You don't need more inventory, more people or more overtime; you need a short, responsive loop that enables the team you already have to tap reliable information and work smarter.

Circulate KPIs across all levels with a single source of truth. Log edge cases and adjust standard operating procedures accordingly. Align labor to known promotions and product launches. The retailers getting this right are increasingly turning to platforms that unify inventory visibility, order orchestration, and store execution, connecting the dots so managers can act on real-time signals rather than yesterday's reports.

The winners aren't the ones with the fanciest systems. They're the ones treating every pickup as both a fulfillment operation and a selling moment, then measuring what matters and acting on what they learn.

Jack Margeson is vice president of alliances at Deposco, an AI-driven supply chain fulfillment platform.