How to use Buy It Locally

Someone has placed an order through Locally or one of our brand partner sites for in-store pickup! What do you do next? 

Are you an Ascend user? Follow these instructions for managing orders in Ascend. 

Step 1: Order Notification

When an order is placed, you'll be notified via email or text.

Click the link in the email/text to open your order screen. You can also load your orders at any time from the Order History screen in your Locally dashboard.

You have 8 hours during business hours to reply to the customer. Within these 8 hours you will receive email and/or text notifications every 30 minutes until you confirm/deny the order. 

If you do not respond within four business hours, the order will auto-cancel. Effective February 1, 2022, all orders that are auto-cancelled due to a lack of response from the retailer will be charged the 3.5% transaction fee. 

When the order is auto-cancelled both the store and the shopper will receive an email and/or text letting them know that the order has been cancelled due the the store not responding to it. Auto-cancellations are monitored and can affect your ability to continue to accept orders on the platform. If an online payment order is auto-cancelled the customer's card will not be charged for the order.

Here is what the order will look like when it comes in. You will be able to see the order#, customer information, and the item (or items) being reserved/purchased. 

Step 2: Order Confirmation

Check your stock and confirm the item is available, and then confirm the order.

To confirm a reservation, click "Resolve this order request" and confirm the order. You can include any messaging as well. Set the item aside for the customer to come and pick up. 

To confirm a payment for store pickup, click "Resolve this order request" and confirm the order, including any messaging you'd like. The shopper's card is charged when you confirm the order, and the charge to the shopper will show up on their credit card statement as being from your store. Once confirmed, the money is directly deposited into your Stripe account within 48 hours. You can load your Stripe dashboard here, and if you need to refund the order at any time, follow these instructions.

Here is what happens when you click "resolve this order request". You can message the customer, confirm the item, or cancel it. 

Here is what the order screen will look like after you confirm a reservation order. After the customer picks up or doesn't pick up their item you can select "picked up" or "not picked up" on the order screen here. 

Here is what the order screen will look like when a purchase order is confirmed. You can refund the customer directly from this screen if they return the item or decide that they do not want to purchase it after all. Learn more about returns in Step 6 below. 

Step 3: Item Out of Stock?

What if the item the customer requested to reserve or purchase is not in stock?

If the item that was reserved is not actually in stock, on your order screen click "Resolve this order request" and unselect the confirmation box. This will prompt you to send a message to the shopper. Explain why you cannot hold the item, and use this as an opportunity to salvage the sale by recommending another product, etc. If you need to cancel the order for any reason you can do so by selecting "More," and then "Cancel Order."

If someone has requested to purchase an item online for in-store pickup but you do not actually have it in stock, decline the sale by selecting "Resolve this order request" and unselect the confirmation box and send a message to the customer explaining why you cannot fulfill the product.

When a shopper places a "Buy Online Pickup In Store" order, their credit card is authorized when the order is placed, but the card isn't actually charged until you receive the request and confirm the order. A temporary hold is placed on the shopper's card for the amount of the item, so if the order is not confirmed, Stripe will release the hold on the shopper's card within 5-10 business days. 

Step 4: The Customer is Here!

The customer shows up! What do I do now?

If they are picking up an item that was reserved, have the customer pay like you would any other sale. 

For online purchases you'll want to create a new tender-type (we suggest calling it "Stripe" or "Locally") and ring the sale up through that. That will remove the product from your inventory and then you’ll get paid out from Stripe.

Step 5: Order Outcome

Last, how do I record the outcome of each order?

You can set "Order Resolution Statuses" to record the outcome of each transaction. This is especially important for Reservations, as Locally waives the 3.5% fee based on certain outcomes.  

See the options below that you will fill out after the order has been completed. You can mark the order resolution status any time, for up to 30 days after the order. NOTE: You can only set the order resolution status once. The first order resolution status that is set will be taken into account for billing. 

This is on the order screen, and we also send an email prompt about 2 days after you confirm the order reminding you to set a resolution status. Select the option that accurately depicts what happened with the transaction. Remember that you can only set this status once.  

What happens if the customer returns a Locally order? 

Follow the instructions in this article.

Buy It Locally Best Practices

• Send the customer a message when you confirm their order. This can help give a personal touch to the order process and invites the customer to come in to pick up their order. If the order is for an item that takes time to build, this is also a great opportunity to communicate that to the customer. 
• Send the customer a message if you have to cancel an order. You may still be able to salvage a sale with the customer if you have a similar item/different color/etc. 
• For reservation orders, send a message to the customer if they do not stop by the store within 24 hours of placing the order. Check in with the customer to see if they are still interested in the order and remind them that it is being held for them at the store.