Vaulting way beyond simple showrooming, Sears has added to its ShopYourWay app the ability to shop at the retail location without even leaving your car. Call it drive-by shopping? Sears has added an option to its mobile shopping app for picking up an order from the nearest retail outlet within five minutes of parking outside the store. Dubbed “In-Vehicle Pick-Up,” the feature appears at checkout in the ShopYourWay smartphone and tablet apps or on PC ordering screens. When the user pulls up to the Sears store and parks in a designated pick-up spot, the user taps the app to initiate a countdown of five minutes. In that time, a sales associate is supposed to show up at your car with the item. The app then asks for user feedback on the experience.
Sears already had a “Free Store Pick-up – Ready in 5” service attached to online and app ordering. This program is intended to extend the service via the app to the car. Sears has been updating the ShopYourWay apps to better connect the mobile/online and in-store experiences. The app allows shoppers to create wish lists, share lists with friends, and seek shopping advice from other customers. The apps also now feature daily sweepstakes, loyalty points and celebrity brand pages.
I love this idea. It would be great for moms with kids so they don't need to leave the car. I hope they are successful. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Sears definitely needs a boost to compete with it's other rivals. Thanks Jeff.