Let the retail industry try to put lipstick on a pig when sales fail to meet investor expectations. The latest shade of lipstick sounds really alluring. Have you heard the false claims that the BOPIS trend is accelerating? What is BOPIS? BOPIS = Buy Online Pick Up In Store. We are told that this growing trend will save traditional retail. “Really – oh, please say it!”

You see, the only reason more consumers are doing this ‘buy online, pick up in store’ thing is because they don’t have a choice. When you go shopping at a retailer expecting to find what you’re looking for, it’s not there. Why? Because retail chains are not profitable and cannot afford to stock merchandise in their stores. We all know why, and we can say it out loud in unison if he wants to; Amazon.

An article in BizTech Online (12/2018) states; “Allowing customers to shop online and pick up in store, also known as ‘click and collect,’ is here to stay.” Another article in the Dallas Market Center News published on January 9, 2019 titled; “2019 Retail Trend: Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS)” states that “BOPIS is one of the fastest growing trends in retail and a strategic tool for physical retailers trying to compete with sellers in pure line”.

Now the first item makes it seem like retailers are doing the customer a favor by ‘allowing’ them to shop online and then conveniently ship it to the store for pickup. Well, this is not a strategy, rather a tragedy. The only reason you would go to a physical store in the first place is to check out what you are buying, examine it, make a decision, and then make your purchase and leave the store with the merchandise right then and there. .

Face it, retailers aren’t doing this because they want to serve the customer better, no, they’re doing it because they’re failing and can’t compete with online sellers, without the high leasing costs of retail space, selling the same product for less. money. I wouldn’t call this a trend so much as I would call it proof that major retailers are on their last legs. For many of them, failure and bankruptcy are imminent.

Sure, retailers could include their entire so-called BOPIS strategy in their quarterly earnings reports as if this trend were preferred by customers and satisfying to consumers. In fact; it’s not. The old Sears Catalog strategy was somewhat similar. You can buy many of the most popular items at their department stores and order anything else through their catalog and pick up at their stores. Tell me my good friend and retail expert; How is Sears doing today?

Consumers are not making BOPIS purchases because they prefer to, no, they are doing so because they often feel they have no choice. Retailers that claim to specialize in various categories, such as business products, home décor, pet supplies, shoes, etc. but they don’t have the actual products in their stores, they are ripe to become the next retail chain bankruptcy flop.

It’s not convenient to go to a retailer and expect to find something, only to find the big box store with lots of extra space and a scant selection of clothing inventory. Then to be said; “sorry, but you can order it in our online store” and pick it up here tomorrow. That means you probably have to go home, go online, order it, and then come back again. Are we told this is ‘convenient’ and a new retail trend and strategy? WHAT are retail executive tuxedos? They should never have legalized that.

This false BOPIS strategy does not compete with Amazon. It’s just showing that Amazon has won the retail war. It’s time to ditch the retail stocks in your portfolio. If you work in retail, it might be a good time to sharpen your resume. Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying