Endless Aisle vs Dropshipping vs In-Store Pickup Fulfillment options

Ecommerce is fast changing and customers’ preferences change frequently. This requires retailers to provide multiple fulfillment options to meet the customer’s expectation of speed of delivery, convenient options and variety of options to choose from. The options include the ability to access an endless aisle of products, dropshipping and the ability to order online and pick up in the store. In this blog article, we will cover the nuances of these fulfillment strategies and discuss the merits of these options and when they are most relevant to the sellers.

Endless Aisle

Endless Aisle refers to a system where retailers offer a wider range of products to customers than what is physically available in-store, providing an endless shopping experience. This is achieved by integrating inventory in other locations such as warehouses, distribution centers and other store locations by an application such as Vin Endless Aisle, which is already integrated with Vin OMS and ERPs such as SAP, webstores such as Shopify (for meta data),, POS systems (for realtime retails stores inventory) such as Wondersoft and Genesys, payment gateways such as PayU, Razorpay and loyalty platforms such as Easyrewardz.

Benefits:

• Expanded product range for customers including those that are not available in the store.
• Increased sales potential without needing more physical space.
• Improved customer satisfaction with greater choice, particularly offering the product that is not available in the store but they want.
• Associates can recommend and show complementary products not physically available in-store.

Challenges:

• Requires real-time inventory across inventory storage locations that are facilitated with solutions such as Vin Endless Aisle and Vin Omni.
• Fulfillment complexity increases and cost of fulfillment increases requiring the management of shipping costs.
• Sellers may not be able to pass on the additional fulfillment costs to the customer.

Typical use case: A shopper walks into your store and finds a jacket she loves, but it’s unavailable in her preferred size or color. Using the Vin Endless Aisle app, the store associate quickly locates the item at a nearby store or warehouse and places the order on her behalf. She’s given the option to have it delivered to her doorstep or pick it up from a convenient store location. Payment is collected instantly, ensuring the sale is completed on the spot — creating a seamless and satisfying shopping experience.

Vinculum Solutions Insight: Our solutions enable seamless integration of your online and offline inventories, powering a robust Endless Aisle experience to boost the retail sales.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a fulfillment method where the retailer does not keep products (particularly those SKU in the long tail) in stock. Instead, when a customer makes a purchase, the retailer orders the product from a third-party supplier who then ships it directly to the customer.

Benefits:

• Low startup costs as no inventory is held.
• Wide product selection without managing stock.
• Flexibility in location and operations.
• Particularly relevant for low selling products but have good profit margins.

Challenges:

• Lack of control over quality and delivery times.
• Handling returns can be messy across multiple delivery partners.
• Lower profit margins if dropshipping is handled by an external party.
• Additional shipping costs are involved, which may not be able to be passed on to the customer..

Typical use case: Seller is introducing a new product or a variant of an existing product where sales volumes are low but profit margins are high.Dropshipping fulfillment option enables the access of such products to the customers and increasing sales without the burden of having inventory carrying costs.

Vinculum Solutions Insight: Our platform enables integration with vendor inventory and inventory of dropshipping suppliers, streamlining order processing and fulfillment without requiring the low volume sale items in the physical store.

In-Store Pickup (Click and Collect)

In-Store Pickup, also known as Click and Collect, allows customers to buy products online and pick them up at a physical store location.

Benefits:

• Convenience for customers.
• Reduced shipping costs for both retailer and customer.
• Opportunity for additional in-store sales.

Challenges:

• Requires tight integration of inventory across multiple locations that are handled by solutions such as Vin Omni.
• Customers may have to wait for their product to arrive at a store due to lack of availability of stock in nearby stock holding locations.
• A physical store is a must in this fulfillment option.

Typical use case: A customer orders a hot item that is not easily available in the stores and is ready to wait for it to arrive at a nearby store. Another use case is a customer wants to be in and out of the store quickly and does not want to go into the store, locate the item and bring it to the sales counter to pay for it but is happy to order it online, pay for it online and quickly picks up in a dedicated counter in the store where online orders are picked up

Vinculum Solutions Insight: Our solutions provide real-time inventory visibility and efficient order management, ensuring smooth in-store pickup processes.

Comparing Strategies

Here is a breakdown of the three strategies for consideration.

Which Is Ideal and When?

The best strategy depends on your specific business needs, product type, and customer base. Consider these points:

• Endless Aisle is ideal for retailers with limited store space but a desire to offer more products.
• Dropshipping suits businesses looking to minimize inventory risk and offer a vast selection.
• In-Store Pickup is great for retailers with physical locations aiming to provide added customer convenience.

Vinculum Solutions Perspective: We offer flexible and scalable solutions that can support any or all of these fulfillment strategies, helping you optimize your operations and enhance customer satisfaction.