leadership dot #2143: shopping

The trend seems to be that people can order things online and pick them up in the store. In the past few weeks, Michaels, Target and Lowe’s have added prominent signage and pick-up areas for people who avail themselves of this service. Some will even bring it to your car.

Perhaps it is a strategy to get consumers into the brick and mortar stores – having them do additional shopping when they come in to pick up items. Maybe it is an incentive to have people shop more because they can do it more leisurely online. Maybe it is because we are getting lazy.

A few years ago, having groceries delivered to your home was a luxury for the rare few, and now it is commonplace. Will Target begin direct deliveries soon – not waiting a whole day to receive something via UPS or the Post Office, but having it arrive as quickly as a pizza? Will stores just become distribution centers instead of places to shop?

For whatever the reason, the buy online/pick up in store movement is gaining momentum. How will your organization be impacted by this? Think about the products or services you expect people to come in person to receive and consider whether there is an easier way to deliver them to your customers. Going shopping in person may soon be as antiquated as having to go in a bank to do your transaction with a teller or calling a travel agent to book your flights.