The numbers on BOPIS

Buy online pickup in store has been a popular – if not universal – tactic for essential retailers to operate through the pandemic.

Now comes some data from ACI Worldwide that quantifies some of that activity.

While many merchants initially implemented the buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) delivery channel during the pandemic, those that already had this option available pre-COVID-19 experienced an increase of 70 percent by volume and 58 percent by value in 2020. However, BOPIS fraud has also seen a significant increase, with a 7 percent fraud attempt rate compared to 4.6 percent with other delivery channels.

“In 2020, we saw the pandemic drive the highest number of merchants implementing the BOPIS delivery channel for the first time in one year,” said Debbie Guerra, executive vice president, ACI Worldwide. “We expect this channel to increase as more consumers get used to the convenience of shopping at home and the speed of in-store pickup. However, this is also a channel to watch closely for fraud, as these same benefits appeal to fraudsters.”

ACI’s data also showed that non-fraud chargebacks increased 26 percent in December 2020 compared to December 2019, driven by shipment delays over the holiday period. “Non-fraud chargebacks continue to rise since the low that was experienced in April 2020,” Guerra continued. “Similar to prior years, porch pirates were active in 2020, which impacted the increase in non-fraud chargebacks as fraudsters follow delivery trucks. In addition, shipment delays consumers experienced over the holiday period as well as a backlog of returns processing and product back orders have also contributed to the increase in non-fraud chargebacks.”

ACI also reported that eCommerce transactions in the retail sector increased 31 percent in December 2020 compared to December 2019.