Bed Bath & Beyond Expands BOPIS to Half of Stores
Bed Bath & Beyond announced most of its stores will remain closed to the public until at least May 30, but the home goods retailer has expanded buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) and contactless curbside pickup services to 200 more locations.
The expansion adds the services to around 50% (750 stores) of the company's total store fleet across the US and Canada. Bed Bath & Beyond also noted it will continue to expand its fulfilment capabilities to support increased demand across its digital channels, enabling the company to ship online orders in two days or less on average and offer orders for pick-up in less than two hours.
"At a time when our homes have become the center of our lives, Bed Bath & Beyond has been meeting the everyday needs of our customers and making it easy to feel at home,” said president & CEO Mark Tritton who took the helm last November. “We're expanding our network of contactless curbside locations, so even more of our customers can conveniently buy online and pick up at store in just a few hours.”
In conjunction with the decision to further extend the majority of temporary store closures, Bed Bath & Beyond will also extend the furlough of the majority of store associates and a portion of corporate associates until at least May 30. The company will continue to pay 100% of the cost of healthcare premiums for all furloughed associates who currently participate, until further notice.
Bed Bath & Beyond said it will gradually re-open its temporarily closed retail banner stores to the public by May 22, but start with just around 20 stores, which include its namesake and Christmas Tree Shops stores. Its BABY and Harmon stores have remained open to provide essential goods.
The retailer will implement a new Store Safety Plan to promote a safe shopping experience across all stores scheduled to re-open to customers, enhancing existing safety protocols across its operations.
"As we initiate our store re-opening plans, we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our associates and customers,” said Tritton. “To help ensure our customers can shop safely with confidence, we are implementing a new Store Safety Plan, enhancing our existing protocols and based on the latest guidance from federal, state and local government and health authorities.
“Our strong financial flexibility and liquidity allows us to take this measured, market-by-market approach to re-opening stores. We will only open our doors to the public when we believe it is safe to do so, while carefully managing costs and monitoring performance as we scale up our operations over time. This approach allows us to continue to make strategic investments in our digital and fulfilment capabilities to build an omni-always shopping experience for our loyal customers.”
