Office Depot speeds up in-store, curbside pickup even more
Office Depot is promising customers speedy delivery — and it's backing it up with a promise.
Office Depot and OfficeMax stores are launching a new in-store and curbside pickup service called “20 Minute Pickup Promise.” For orders not ready in 20 minutes, customers will receive an email within 48 hours of placing their order, containing a coupon for $20 off their next qualifying purchase. The new service follows the June 2021 rollout of 30-minute in-store and curbside pickup at Office Depot and OfficeMax stores nationwide.
Introduced in time for the holiday season, customers can use the new service by placing a qualifying order online via the Office Depot e-commerce site or mobile app and selecting “In-Store or Curbside Pickup” at checkout at least one hour before the store’s closing time.
Since April 2020, Office Depot and OfficeMax stores have also been offering same-day delivery via the third-party Shipt and Deliv platforms in as little as one hour on qualifying orders.
The ultrafast fulfillment model of online orders in 30 minutes or less has been gaining traction in the on-demand delivery space, particularly among grocery and CPG retailers. Regional grocer The Giant Company recently teamed up with Instacart to offer delivery of fresh groceries, convenience items, and household essentials from early morning to late at night, in as fast as 30 minutes. Several startups have also recently popped up to provide ultrafast delivery of online convenience orders.
[Read more: Ultrafast delivery is gaining momentum]
Office Depot is increasing the speed of its in-store and curbside pickup offering as parent company ODP Corp. is preparing to split itself into two separate, publicly traded companies. ODP Corp. has named the chief executives who will run ODP and Office Depot when the two companies complete their split, with Kevin Moffitt, currently executive VP and chief retail officer of ODP, to serve as CEO of Office Depot. The company will consist of approximately 1,100 Office Depot and OfficeMax stores, along with an e-commerce website.
The separation may pave the way for Office Depot to be acquired by rival Staples. In January 2021, ODP turned down an offer by Staples to buy the company for $2.1 billion in cash. But ODP also said it was open to a reworking of the deal, including combining their retail operations.
“We know our customers value convenience and friendly, helpful service, especially during the holiday season, which is a stressful time of the year for many,” said Kevin Moffitt, executive VP and chief retail officer for Office Depot. “Whether purchasing items to prepare your small business for the holiday rush, upgrading a home office, or thanking a favorite teacher with a holiday gift, our store pickup program is an industry-leading promise to customers to get them what they need in 20 minutes or less.”
Office Depot LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The ODP Corp., a provider of business services and supplies, products and digital workplace technology solutions to small, medium and enterprise businesses, through an integrated business-to-business distribution platform and approximately 1,100 stores.