Curbside Pickup presents an opportunity for consumers to continue to do business with local merchants at minimal risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus. When compared to take-out orders, curbside pickup is far superior because the consumer does not need to leave the sanctity of their vehicle.

Many restaurants and retailers have scrambled to implement curbside pickup by taking orders over the phone and coordinating pickup times with customers. This rudimentary approach is not sustainable over time nor is it easily scalable. Instead, merchants should look to adopt online ordering platforms that are built specifically to support curbside pickup.

In many locales, businesses have been ordered by governments to close their doors to in-store customers. Even where such restrictions are not formally in place, consumers are opting to self-isolate and as a result are not frequenting brick and mortar establishments. As a result, merchants are faced with the daunting reality that they are seeing fewer customers. To combat this, good online ordering platforms will help merchants digitally connect with their existing customers in ways where they can perform post visit engagement and encourage repeat visits.

Of notable importance is the fact that consumers are also adapting to the new reality of social distancing in the marketplace. In doing so, it won’t take long for them to determine which businesses are able to meet their needs in a manner they feel is safe and convenient. Merchants who quickly adopt technology solutions that allow them to interface with customers efficiently and with minimal friction will be rewarded with greater market share. Long term, those businesses that adopt robust online ordering platforms with curbside pickup and built-in customer engagement solutions, will far outpace their counterparts who rely on rudimentary means for interfacing with customers.

While there is much uncertainty over how long the pandemic will last, it is unlikely that the United States will quickly return to business as usual. A more likely outcome is that social distancing protocols will be relaxed over time but marketplace norms will be forever changed by a new standard of hygiene.

Payment Logistics® is available to help brick and mortar merchants quickly implement PayLink® Online Ordering with Curbside Pickup and Digital Customer Engagement. Given the challenging times, we are waiving the monthly subscription fee for our base plan which has everything a merchant needs to implement online ordering with curbside pickup. Learn more at https://paymentlogistics.com/curbside.