Store inventory dedicated to in-store pickup orders (stores, selling, deal)

[Pink Jazz]

I was wondering, has anyone ever run into cases where inventory was available for in-store pickup, but not available to walk-in customers? I have seen that is often the case with JCPenney and Macy's where I see several items being listed as available for in-store pickup, but none of them actually stocked in the store. I don't believe this is an error on the stores websites either, because sometimes I don't see comparable items in the stores either yet new items of the same type are continuously added as available for in-store pickup. One time I even had an order go through even though no items of that type were on the store shelves.

So, why would stores have inventory exclusively for in-store pickup orders, hidden away from customers?

[elnina]

Simply - stores can offer much more online than in their stores due to costs, and storage. Stuff that you can order online they can order directly from the manufacturers, as needed, and skip the costly ordering and storage inside their stores. That trend started many decades ago, when store catalogs were invented.
People love to have options. Not just 20 different products they can see at the store, but hundreds similar they can order online - different colors, different makers etc.

[katie45]

Originally Posted by elnina

Simply - stores can offer much more online than in their stores due to costs, and storage. Stuff that you can order online they can order directly from the manufacturers, as needed, and skip the costly ordering and storage inside their stores. That trend started many decades ago, when store catalogs were invented.
People love to have options. Not just 20 different products they can see at the store, but hundreds similar they can order online - different colors, different makers etc.

This! And OP, stores don't 'hide' items in the store waiting for someone to order them online.

[Chaofan]

The point of offering online ordering with in-store pickup is to avoid maintaining inventory. A separate "inventory exclusively for in-store pickup orders" does not exist.


Maintaining inventory is expensive. Ordering from the warehouse, supplier, or manufacturer only when an order has been placed and a sale has been made is much more cost-effective than keeping all that merchandise in the store, keeping the shelves stocked, taking the risk on what products, models, colors, sizes, etc., people will actually buy, and then dealing with the financial and logistical consequences of guessing wrong and being left with large piles of unsold merchandise.


As a previous poster said, there is no inventory hidden away from customers. There would be no sense in doing that at all. Merchandise that is not on the selling floor is merchandise that is never sold. The items for in-store pickup are items that were ordered specifically because someone bought them online and will pick them up. They were not in the store before that. Offering the opportunity to order merchandise online to be picked up in the store provides a wider selection to customers and more flexibility to the companies offering that service.

[Lbjen]

I think it’s more that they aren’t really putting all their stock out on the floor.