Click & Collect Proves Physical Retail Is Still Important To Customers In The Age Of E-Commerce
By Selena Wu
Whether it’s referred to as click & collect, BOPIS or deliver-to-store, the concept of buying an item online and then picking up the goods at a local shop near you, is a service that has been growing in popularity since it was first launched over a decade ago.
For consumers who didn't want to wait at home for deliveries or pay delivery charges for small items, click & collect started out as a great compromise between the ease of online shopping and being able to receive purchases at their convenience. First popularised by high-street retailers, click & collect services have proved so popular that over the years, they've even been introduced by online-only retailers including ASOS, Amazon and Missguided. Indeed, entire companies have established services just to enable click & collect, including Doodle who provide pick up points; Collect+, a service started by PayPoint to enable corner shops to become pick up points; and Amazon Lockers, self service kiosks to pick up Amazon parcels. Click & collect has seen huge growth over the years, with Barclaycard research in 2019 showing that 71% of UK shoppers had used this service, citing reasons of convenience whilst they were out during the day and not being able to get parcels delivered to their places of work.
Retailers also find that click & collect services bring them huge benefits. They tend to be relatively easy to set up for a company with an established store network and these days there are also logistics partners for those with no brick-and-mortar presence. Retailers with such a service tend to find that it's the fastest growing delivery option and for those with store networks, up to 85% of customers will buy additional items when they collect their online order. In addition, whilst retailers have to deal with no shows, 77% of retailers report reduced returns, saving on the costs of processing refunds and restocking items.
As the Covid-19 pandemic took hold last year, click & collect services exploded in popularity during the first lockdown, as people were less inclined to spend time inside shops and non-essential retailers. It became a more convenient and reliable method of receiving goods when delivery services became overwhelmed. Currently in the third lockdown, enthusiasm for click & collect certainly hasn't died down, but a number of retailers have paused this service and Scotland restricted services, citing safety concerns due to a more contagious variant of Covid-19.
As we look to the future of click & collect in the context of a post Covid-19 world, it is highly likely that the service will continue to grow. Consumers over the course of the pandemic have become accustomed to the convenience of shopping online and having product available quickly— becoming more impatient with slow delivery services. As people start returning to work, expectations of fast receipt of goods won't dissipate, likely making click & collect even more attractive, especially as we return to offices and workplaces close to shopping areas. People will expect delivery times to become even faster, with the 1 hour click & collect services (currently offered by huge retailers such as Next, B&Q and Homebase) likely becoming the norm for any retailer with a store network. Investment into such services, whilst costly, will bring efficiency benefits as inventory can be managed centrally and the already known benefits of increased store sales and reduced return rates will likely ensure that investment is quickly recouped.
Click & collect has been concept that has shown many retailers the importance of physical retail, even in the age of online shopping. The Covid-19 pandemic which accelerated the growth of e-commerce as also done so for click & collect services, with many compelling consumer motivations as to why it will continue to grow.
Selena is a consultant working with fashion brands, helping them to elevate their image, develop their sales and marketing and refine their direct-to-consumer strategies. She is passionate about sustainable business models and enjoys working with brands to realise their full commercial potential at all stages of growth. To get in touch with her, you can drop her a line at selena@moodconsultancy.co.uk or find her on Instagram @wu.selena