In its ongoing effort to make shopping more convenient, the retail powerhouse Nordstrom has expanded into curbside pickup services for orders placed online, as well as for completed alterations. Whereas in the past, shoppers who needed their pants hemmed or their jackets taken in had to come into the store multiple times—once to select the clothing, possibly again to be fitted by the tailor, and then a third time to retrieve their altered items—today they can eliminate at least one of these steps. They pull up outside the store, call or text a dedicated number, and simply wait to have their newly altered clothes hung directly in the car. In about 20 test markets, Nordstrom also promises that online orders will be ready in about an hour. Whether an online order or an alteration, the store gives customers the ability to contact in-store employees to announce that they have arrived, so that staffers know when to head out the doors with the pickup items. Together with its flagship store remodeling efforts, Nordstrom thus is seeking to differentiate itself as not just the store retailer of choice but the preferred option across every channel.

 

Source: George Anderson, Retail Wire, May 5, 2015