Is Drive Thru For You?

Amazon is in the news again for drive thru grocery shopping, and many other retailers have hopped on the drive thru band wagon as well. Pharmacies and liquor stores were among the first to copy the restaurant model of allowing customers to pick up purchases without ever getting out of their vehicles.

Although comedians like to make fun of consumers for being lazy, there are good reasons for providing this convenience:

• Consumers with physical disabilities and impairments find getting in and out of vehicles difficult. Walking around even a small store is often exhausting for this segment of the population. If someone will hand them their purchases as they sit in their cars, they will have a more pleasant shopping experience.
• Parents and other childcare providers don’t always like navigating retail stores with kids who want to run away or grab things off of store shelves. It is also a hassle to get small children in and out of car seats. Neither do these shoppers want to interrupt naps which often start on a car ride.
• Busy people with packed schedules often prefer to avoid crowded store aisles and get through their shopping list as quickly as possible.

We recognize that not all retailers operate out of a building that can easily accommodate a drive thru window. But you can take that idea and apply it to your business in these other ways:

• Implementing an “in-store pickup” option. Customers can browse your website, place an order,  and then pick it up with minimal disruption to their schedule.
• “Curb-side pickup” is another great option for those who really don’t want to get in and out of their vehicles. If you don’t own your land, contact your landlord to see if you can work out a location to designate for your customers to pull up and receive their goods.

Making shopping easy for your customers will make them want to stay with you. Of course, once your customers have made their purchases, they’ll need them packaged. Contact us to help you with bags and boxes to keep those items safe in transit!