The internet has created great benefit, but it has also
created great disruption for traditional brick & mortar clothing stores. As
these stores learn to react to the new world that has emerged around them, they
are using new techniques to combine the efforts of their online resources with
their in-store resources. Welcome to the world of SFS & BOPUS. Do you know
what these acronyms stand for?
SFS means
Ship-from-store.
BOPUS means buy online, pick
up in store (yes, the acronym excludes the “i” for the word
“in”)
In summary these terms refer to store fulfillment. Clothing
stores are developing new ways to fulfill orders from their existing store
inventory. This allows consumers to purchase online and allows the store to
take advantage of the existing inventory in their store. SFS and BOPUS can
allow fashion retailers to sell product from their store rather than from a
warehouse, DC or fulfillment center.
Ship-from-store basically means that when a consumer
places an order the retailer can pull product from the hanger or store shelf and
process the order from the stores existing inventory. The store will then ship
the clothes, footwear, or accessory to the consumer.
Buy online, pick up in store allows the consumer to
shop online and the store will hold the merchandise for the shopper to pick up
the merchandise in the store. This has the benefit of allowing a shopper to
save on freight expense. This may also provide the added benefit of getting
product faster if it is needed urgently. This method actually provides the
retailer with two options. They can use inventory that currently exists in
their store or they can ship product to the store from their warehouse. If they
have freight moving to their store from their own trucks, it may not add any
freight cost bringing the merchandise from their own warehouse to the store.
The retailer really should list whether or not the units are currently in the
store or if they are on the way so that the consumer knows when the merchandise
if officially available for pick up.
Mom & pop stores and large retailers need to continue to
adapt to new shopping methods. This is the only way to continue as a successful
apparel retailer in the
modern world. It is not enough to simply stay up to speed on the latest
fashions. Retailers also need to stay up to date on the latest trends in
retailing.
You may also want to read about how fashion
stores use beacon technology to stay ahead of the curve.
Thank you for taking the time to read our apparel industry blog post. We hope that you have found this news to be informative. If you have comments or questions, please add your thoughts in the discussion area below.
If you are tired of reading you may want to take a break and shop for clothes on Amazon.