Curbside Pickup Drives US Retailers' Digital Revenue Up 49%

Retailers That Plugged In the 2020 Trend (and Hit the Jackpot)

In the whirlwind year of 2020, shoppers went from “just want to buy” to “just want to shop” with a twist: grab it from the store or pick it up on the curb. Those retailers who rolled out the right tools reaped wave after wave of digital dough, while the others felt the cold side of the economy (literally).

Digging Into the Numbers

BOPIS (Buy‑Online‑Pick‑Up‑In‑Store) – Retailers offering this sleight‑of‑hand service saw their digital revenue skyrocket by 49% YoY on average. The industry average for those without BOPIS hovered around a modest 28%.
Curfew‑free Curbside Pickup – In the U.S., pickups by the curb surged a jaw‑dropping 88% between Nov 1 and Dec 9, 2020. By the end of that period, nearly a quarter (23%) of all orders were completed via curbside.

What’s the Secret Sauce?

It’s simple: Flexibility matters. Smart retailers tuned into the consumer’s desire to feel safe, savor choice, and save time. By bridging online convenience with quick‑access physical pickup points, they turned hesitant browsers into cash‑spending champions.

Takeaway: It’s Not Just a Trend, It’s a Toolkit

For the next wave of shoppers, there’s one message hard to ignore: “Get on board the pickup train, and you’ll ride the next financial boom.” Those who didn’t tune in? You can bet they’re still scrambling to catch up.

Target’s Curbside Pickups Grow by 500% YoY During 2020 Holiday Season

Curbside Pickup: The Unseen Hero of Holiday Sales

When the holidays rolled around in 2020, a new hero emerged in the retail world—curbside pickup, or BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store). It turned a simple grocery run into a sci‑fi‑style rescue mission for shoppers and a sales megaphone for retailers.

The Numbers that Shocked the Retailers

From December 1 to 9, 2020, curbside pickups soared 94%—almost double what shoppers were doing before the pandemic.
Retailers offering curbside pickup saw a 33% higher conversion rate compared to those that didn’t.
Adobe Analytics traced BOPIS orders jumping from 15% at the outset of 2020 to 25% in December—a 65% increase in share.
Holiday season numbers held steady at 25%, eclipsing December 2019’s 18%.

The Great Uptake: From 6.9% to 43.7%

Before the pandemic, only 6.9% of the top 500 retailers had curbside pickup. By August 2020, that figure jumped to a staggering 43.7%. Retailers were scrambling to get on the curbside bandwagon faster than you can say “Checkout.”

Target: A Digital Sales Superstar

Target’s data tells a story of a brand that took the holiday rush by storm:

Comparable sales for November and December 2020 jumped 17.2% over 2019.
Digital sales exploded a full 102%, while in‑store sales were just a modest 4.2% bump.
Target’s Drive‑Up, Shipt Delivery, and Order Pickup services grew a marathon 193% combined.
Drive‑Up alone leapt 500%—think of it as a bungee jump for sales.
Shipt Up shot up 300% of the roadway.

Target didn’t stop there. It sold over 150 million items via Drive‑Up and Order Pickup—four times the 2019 volume. In the second quarter of 2020, the brand’s digital sales did a 200% lift, while Drive‑Up surged by an eye‑popping 700%. The third quarter held strong with a 154% increase in digital sales, and Drive‑Up still shouted an impressive 500%.

Why This Matters

Curbside pickup isn’t just a convenience—it’s a game‑changer. Retailers who adopt it are seeing higher conversions, sharper sales growth, and happier customers who no longer need to park at the store entrance.