According to the plan, shoppers will place their orders online, then drive to the nearest participating store where the waiting orders will be brought out to their cars. Instead of building warehouses or distribution centers to run delivery trucks, some retailers have opted to use their store shelves and staff to fill orders that come to them over the Internet. In the U.K., Tesco is perhaps the grocery industry's most advanced e-retailer. Despite the fact that Tesco delivers the orders to customers instead of having shoppers pick them up, Tesco has opted to fulfill the orders directly from local stores. Stores are conveniently located, they already have a customer base, and they already have brand recognition.
People have a confidence level with the store they've been shopping at for years.
You don't have the Internet infrastructure costs or the excessive marketing costs needed to build brand recognition. You do have the inventory and the labor. When we implement our program with a store they will actually receive and fulfill their first order without having spent a nickel. Aside from the software, the company also gives operators in-store processes for picking, packing, staging and customer pickup or delivery depending on the retailer's desire and ability. They also provide training for the retailer's staff.