When Jeff Keller ordered a Windows Vista upgrade and a wireless-Internet adapter on CircuitCity.com, he expected to save some time, as well as shipping fees, by picking them up at a store near his Oakland, Calif., home.
First came the call that the adapter was out of stock. Then, when he drove to the Circuit City store, he was told that the Vista order had been mistakenly canceled. He waited 20 minutes while a warehouse clerk found another copy of the Microsoft operating system.
Mr. Keller, 30 years old, turned to Best Buy's Web site to order the missing wireless adapter, again choosing the "buy online, pick up in store" option. He encountered another setback when he arrived at the Best Buy store: His item was in stock but hadn't been set aside. He waited while a staffer located the product in an aisle and walked it back to the cash register. The whole transaction took about 15 minutes, he said.
"What's the point of in-store pickup if they don't have the product ready to go when you arrive?" Mr. Keller asked. "Lesson learned: It's faster to just pull it off the shelf yourself."
Retailers are increasingly touting features that let customers order items online, and then pick them up at nearby physical stores. Consumers are offered the ability to save on shipping charges and get orders faster, and retailers find it can boost store sales. Many stores advertise that items will be available for pickup soon after the order is placed, while others take days to transfer online-only items to stores from warehouses.
But as in-store pickup has grown in popularity -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.C. Penney Company Inc., Lowe's Cos. and Payless ShoeSource Inc. have joined the ranks of retailers offering the service -- complaints are mounting over faulty Web information and slow service. And some analysts are cautioning retailers that the process is trickier than it looks.
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