California Apparel News

Gap Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Glenn K. Murphy reported being pleased with “Reserve in Store,” the sprawling San Francisco–based retail giant’s recent test of its omni-channel retail program, and he is considering expanding the test to more locations.

Murphy discussed the “Reserve in Store” program during an Aug. 22 conference call on Gap Inc.’s second-quarter earnings with Wall Street analysts.

“I think that’s proven to be a much bigger draw than I thought it was going to be,” he said of the program, where shoppers can reserve items online, then pick them up in stores. “Basically, our store is always open. … Place a reservation, and first thing in the morning, our team fulfills that.”

“Reserve in Store” was tested in 40 Gap and Banana Republic stores in the San Francisco and Chicago areas this summer. Gap Inc. did not respond to requests for comment on the program and its possible rollout.

Almost every major retailer is experimenting with omni-channel retail, a program that allows shoppers to make purchases and communicate with retailers through a myriad of ways, ranging from mobile devices and desktop computers to shopping in a physical store.

Omni-channel retail is just taking its first steps, but many forecast that it will make registers ring, said retail technology industry veteran Judah Phillips, who works as vice president of analytics and data science for e-commerce retailer Karmaloop.

“The omni-channel concept is new,” Phillips said. “There still needs to be time to prove that those investments [in omni-channel] yield profitable outcomes, as they are predicted to.”

A Bain & Co. study published in a November 2012 newsletter found that omni-channel customers typically spend more—sometimes 70 percent more—than those who shop just one channel.

Gap’s Reserve in Store program can be found online at www.gap.com/products/reserve-in-store.jsp. The program’s instructions recommend reserving an item on that item’s product page. After choosing a size, a list will appear showing the stores in which the item is available. In one hour, Gap will send an email confirming that a garment is reserved at a specific store. The shopper is then welcome to pick up the item at the store.

Gap Inc. has tested other omni-channel programs recently. One program, the “Find a Store” program, sent shoppers confirmations that a specific item is in a particular store.

Still, the extent of consumer demand for Gap's Reserve in Store program came as a surprise for Murphy.

“Why would I want to reserve something in store?” Murphy asked the Wall Street analysts on the Q2 call. “The ability to go on at 10, 11 or 6 in the morning and see something that really is something you want, and to reserve it, and then be able to get a text from us when the store opens—I think that’s proven to be a much bigger draw than I thought it was going to be.”