Gap To Test New Order In Store Service Later This Year

   By Anna Prior 
 

Gap Inc. (GPS) said some shoppers in stores later this year will be able to place orders for the retailer's expanded offerings online as part of the company's latest push to merge online and in-store operations.

The announcement comes as Gap, which operates its namesake stores, as well as the Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, has its annual investor meeting on Wednesday.

Retailers in recent quarters have been trumpeting the integration of brick and mortar stores with online and mobile commerce, typically referred to as "omnichannel." Such strategies can involve having shoppers pick up online orders in stores, or having online orders ship from a local store location instead of a distant warehouse.

Gap, for its part, said it will begin testing its new order-in-store capability later this year, and will be expanding its reserve-in-store service to all Gap stores in the U.S. by the end of the second quarter. The reserve-in-store service allows online and mobile customers to reserve items in certain Gap and Banana Republic stores.

Gap's performance has been a relative bright spot in the retail industry as many other retailers have lowered this outlooks this year, citing heavy promotions and weak traffic during the critical holiday sales season.

By tapping hot fashion trends, the San Francisco-based company has managed to post higher same-store sales for eight consecutive quarters.

But Gap, like other specialty retailers, faces growing competition from fast-fashion chains such as Forever 21 Inc. and Inditex Group Inc.'s Zara.

The company in February warned that weakening foreign currencies could hurt its earnings in the current fiscal year, but posted fourth-quarter results that topped the upbeat forecast it issued earlier in the month.

Gap also has focused on expanding outside of the U.S. and opened its first Old Navy store in China in March.

On Wednesday, Gap said it expects sales in China--the company's largest growth market--to reach $1 billion in three years.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

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