Retailers boost sales with omnichannel shopping options

Ashley Morgan • June 14, 2026 • 3 min read

Omnichannel shopping options boost retail sales, with curbside pickup leading conversion rates according to a new report on top North American retailers.

Retailers boost sales with omnichannel shopping options

Omnichannel options are directly tied to higher conversion rates for retail chains, according to a new analysis of the top 1,000 online retailers in North America. The 2026 edition of the annual Omnichannel Report shows which fulfillment choices matter most — and how much they can lift sales. Curbside pickup, despite a sharp drop in adoption over the past five years, remains the strongest performer.

The report calculates that retail chains offering curbside pickup in 2025 posted an average conversion rate of 4.1%. That’s more than a full percentage point above the overall average of 2.9% for chains in the database. Chains like Walmart, Target, Albertsons, and Kroger all provide curbside pickup, often backed by mobile apps, loyalty programs, and parking lots large enough to make the service work at scale.

Curbside pickup lost ground while other options grew

Five years ago, more than half of retail chains in the top 1,000 offered curbside pickup. That share has since fallen from 53.9% in 2021 to 24.9% in 2025. The report suggests that retailers have adapted to shifting shopper preferences throughout the 2020s, and that the pandemic-era spike in curbside demand has leveled off.

Meanwhile, two other omnichannel features gained ground. The share of chains offering buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) increased over the same period. So did the share providing in-store stock status — a feature that tells shoppers whether an item is physically available at a nearby location before they visit.

BOPIS and stock status also lifted conversions

Retail chains that offered BOPIS in 2025 saw an average conversion rate of 3.4%. That was up from 3.2% in 2021 and a low of 2.9% in 2023. For chains that displayed in-store stock status, the average rate hit 3.3% in 2025, compared with 3.1% in 2021.

Adoption of in-store stock status has stayed relatively steady. It appeared on 64.9% of retail chain websites in 2025, down slightly from a peak of 65.5% the year before. A shopper who knows the item they want is physically present is much more likely to complete the purchase.

None of this is especially surprising to grocers and mass merchants that compete directly with Amazon. For them, offering curbside pickup isn’t just a convenience — it’s a strategic asset that drives both conversion and loyalty. The report notes that the connection between curbside and higher conversion has held steady since the COVID-19 pandemic and through the recovery years that followed.

Infrastructure and cost matter

Not every retailer can replicate the model. Curbside pickup requires dedicated parking space, staffing, and often a mobile app to coordinate arrivals. Those requirements help explain why its adoption has dropped even as its conversion advantage persists — smaller chains or those in dense urban areas may find the investment harder to justify.

The broader takeaway is that omnichannel fulfillment remains a clear differentiator. Retail chains that offer at least one of these options consistently outperform those that don’t. And while the mix of services evolves, the underlying logic doesn’t: the easier it is for a customer to get what they want, the more likely they are to buy it.

The report’s data covers the top 1,000 online retailers in North America by annual web sales, a group that accounts for the vast majority of ecommerce activity. Curbside pickup, BOPIS, and in-store stock status are the three most common omnichannel options tracked, and each shows a measurable impact on conversion rates.

Even as ecommerce technology advances, some of the most effective tools are the ones that bridge the gap between online shopping and physical stores. And for retailers willing to invest in the logistics, the payoff shows up in the numbers.