{"id":6737,"date":"2019-01-25T22:57:47","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T22:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/high-street-crisis-can-click-and-collect-save-shops\/"},"modified":"2019-01-25T22:57:47","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T22:57:47","slug":"high-street-crisis-can-click-and-collect-save-shops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/high-street-crisis-can-click-and-collect-save-shops\/","title":{"rendered":"High Street crisis: Can ‘click and collect’ save shops?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Alamy<\/span><\/p>\n

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So many people have experienced the annoyance of the little card on the doormat, saying: “Sorry we missed you.” <\/p>\n

According to consumer group Which?<\/a>, 60% of those who ordered Christmas presents online experienced problems with delivery. <\/p>\n

Keen to avoid parcels ending up in recycling bins or being chewed by the dog, more shoppers are choosing click-and-collect. <\/p>\n

Could struggling retailers use the service to boost sales in-store?<\/p>\n

Click for convenience<\/h2>\n

Click-and-collect services are offered by retailers for online orders. Customers collect the goods at a local shop or designated pick-up point, such as a newsagent, when it’s convenient for them. <\/p>\n

More and more retailers are now offering click-and-collect services, often free.<\/p>\n

BBC News asked some of the UK’s biggest retailers how many online orders had been picked up in-store in 2018.<\/p>\n

Boots<\/strong> said 75% of online customers had opted to pick up parcels in-store. Marks & Spencer <\/strong>saw 71% collected in shops. <\/p>\n

Argos<\/strong> said that 60% of all sales had started online, with 80% of all sales fulfilled in Argos or Sainsbury’s stores. After the supermarket chain bought out Argos two years ago, the number of click-and-collect points increased to 1,200 – with more than 260 Argos stores inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets. <\/p>\n

John Lewis<\/strong> confirmed that 50% of all online orders had been collected in-store, or in Waitrose shops also owned by the group. <\/p>\n

Next <\/strong>also reported that about half of its online sales had been picked up in store via click-and-collect. <\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n GRAHAM FLACK<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n Doddle provides third-party click-and-collect points for Debenhams and New Look
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Amazon UK<\/strong> and Asos <\/strong>didn’t disclose their figures. But, their click-and-collect provider, Doddle, said customers now expected more when it came to delivery options – providing a new opportunity for retailers. <\/p>\n

Kitty Poole, marketing and customer experience director at Doddle, said: “For years, home delivery has been the default delivery option – but that’s all changing. <\/p>\n

“A combination of cost, convenience, trust and increasing consumer awareness about the environmental impact of delivery choices has brought about change. <\/p>\n

“Click-and-collect has also started being competitively priced by forward thinking retailers, which is driving uptake. <\/p>\n

“The lure of deciding when you collect and drop off parcels is a big one.”<\/p>\n

Challenges ahead<\/h2>\n

Click-and-collect has some advantages for stores. Deliveries are less costly and complicated if they’re going to one shop, rather than multiple homes.<\/p>\n

But, it also poses some challenges.<\/p>\n

Logistics consultant Lynn Parnell said: “The space to store goods while they’re awaiting collection can be expensive, considering it’s taking away from the sales floor. <\/p>\n

“Staff might also need more time to sort and organise click-and-collect only deliveries.”<\/p>\n

She added retailers were having to develop additional technology to track deliveries, notify customers they’ve arrived, and match them to their parcel in-store. <\/p>\n

High Street shops also face growing competition from online retailers.<\/p>\n

Online spending in the UK reached a record 21.5% of total retail sales in November, according to the Office for National Statistics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That dipped slightly in December, while the amount spent and the quantity bought compared with the previous month decreased by 0.9% too<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Analysts have suggested that the increasing popularity of online shopping, subdued customer demand and rising costs have combined to create a “perfect storm” for High Street stores. <\/p>\n

The future of shopping?<\/h2>\n

With retailers having seen tough trading conditions and shop closures in 2018, it’s no surprise they might be keen to capture the extra footfall to boost physical stores.<\/p>\n

Market research company Global Data estimates<\/a> that 70% of those collecting or returning parcels make impulse in-store purchases.<\/p>\n

In order to encourage additional spending in shops, Sports Direct offers \u00a35 vouchers to online customers – redeemable only in shops where they’re picking up a parcel.<\/p>\n