Michaels Launches Same-Day Delivery in Weeks, Curbside in Days
As the coronavirus upends the retail industry, it’s also showing how fast some retailers can actually implement new technology and services. Craft retailer Michaels, for one, has quickly added new fulfillment options to meet the needs of its customers during the pandemic, including same-day delivery and curbside pickup.
The Michaels Companies was able to launch its curbside pickup offering under a week and same-day delivery in a few short weeks, a spokesperson tells RIS.
Last Friday, Michaels kicked off its new contactless same-day delivery service, which, when fully rolled out, will be available at select U.S. stores nationwide. The same-day offering is a direct response to better serve the Michaels Makers community during COVID-19, the spokesperson says.
“New service programs such as curbside pickup (four days from test to national launch) and same day delivery (about two weeks development time) would have taken three to four-plus months pre-COVID-19,” the spokesperson says. “Michaels has created agile work teams that quickly test MVP (Minimally Viable Product) solutions and then iterate improvements quickly. Michaels developed these teams so we can be responsive to our Makers’ needs in as ‘real time as possible.’”
When customers visit michaels.com to purchase supplies, the new same-day delivery option will appear at check-out if the service is available at a customer’s location. The same-day service applies to online orders placed before 1:00 p.m.; after 1:00 p.m. orders are delivered the following day. Same-day shipping is available within a 10-mile radius of participating stores for a flat fee of $7.99 for orders of $100 more or for $14.99 for orders less than $100. Contactless delivery from Michaels requires delivery drivers to place packages at a customer’s door and return to their vehicle after knocking or ringing the doorbell.
For shoppers wishing to pickup online orders for free at the store, its new curbside pickup service is available until 6:00 p.m. unless the store closes earlier. After this time online order pickup is only available in-store.
When a shoppers’ order is ready for pickup, they receive an email with the store's phone number. Once the customer arrives at the store and parks, they call the store number, press 3 and provide the order number and the name on the order. Then an associate brings out the order, checks an ID and delivers it to the customer’s vehicle trunk. Shipping and pickup methods are shown on product detail pages and in the customer’s shopping cart before checkout.
The Michaels Companies, which operates more than 1,270 Michaels stores, appointed Walmart executive Ashley Buchanan its new president and CEO in January, succeeding Mark Cosby.