What Is Curbside Pickup?

7 min read

As the world rapidly adjusts and settles into a new normal, online ordering and curbside pickup are here to stay. And it’s never too late to learn how to enable these features for your store!

We’ll run through a few questions on how this feature can help sustain your business. And if you’re still looking for a way to take your offline business, online. Make sure you sign up for an Ecwid E-commerce store today. Let’s jump into it!

What Stores Offer Curbside Pickup?

The real question is – what stores are not offering curbside pickup! Just about every business has transitioned to the changing times. And in order for your small business to sustain itself, you’ll want to find new ways to accept orders and deliver them too.

From big brand stores to small-town shops, small businesses all over the world are using curbside pickup. Between April 1st and April 20th, retail stores saw a 208% increase in curbside pickup, compared to the year before. And even with stores opening under modifications, curbside pickup and delivery is not going away anytime soon.

What Does Curbside Pickup Mean?

We’ve established the need, but now you’ll want to understand what curbside pickup means for your business. One of the main benefits to offering curbside pickup is the ability to keep your store open. You’ll continue to see revenue come in, even if it’s slightly decreased — it’s better then closing your business.

Another way to think of it, is like a contactless drive-thru, with the modification of “order online, pick up in-store”. The short of it, curbside pickup is a way businesses can stay open while keeping customers and employees safe by limiting person-to-person contact.

But How Does Curbside Pickup Work?

First, you’ll need to strategize a plan before you enable curbside pickup and understand how it works. It’s a simple process: orders are placed online, packaged up, and put into customers’ car trunks for them or set outside for pickup. Based on how it works, here are some ways you could organize curbside pickup:

Set a pickup spot outside your store/restaurant — make it obvious where people should park to wait for their order.
Explain to employees new rules for pickup (a simple checklist will do).
Add clear instructions for customers to your website.

Take a look at how it looks! This pickup option is great for local restaurants taking online orders, stores selling groceries and similar businesses.

Curbside Pickup Method

How Do I Use Curbside Pickup?

If you want to learn how to enable curbside pickup with your Ecwid store, we have a dedicated post that can help. An important note before you start — this checkout feature is used for local and in-person pickup. While your customers might not be local to the area, curbside pickup involves businesses and customers who share the same locale.

Related: And for even more help check out this step-by-step guide!

How Do Customers Pick up Curbside?

Now you know how to enable curbside pickup in your store. You’ll need to understand the user experience and how it will work for them. And it’s pretty simple!

Once an order has been placed and paid for, you should have designated parking for customers. As well as, special instructions for them once they arrive. There are a few ways customers can pickup their orders:

Through contactless pickup. Simply place the order in the trunk or car of the customer, no touching required!
Provide a pickup station. Create a table or area with orders, with clearly labeled customer information and their order number.

Make sure to include your information at every point of contact or communication. If a customer is confused, you’ll want to be easily accessible in order to provide the highest customer service.

How Can Restaurants Use Curbside Pickup?

With the shutdown of dine-in restaurants, restaurants have seen a sudden boom in curbside pickup. And takeout is all the rage! In order to protect themselves and their customers, restaurants have shifted to curbside pickup and contactless delivery.

In exactly the same way as a retail store, customers pull into a designated parking spot or walk up for their curbside pickup. Checkout these Ecwid restaurants & merchants that are using curbside pickup!