The rise of click and collect: What is it, how does it work, and who is it for?

Click and collect means customers can ‘click’ to buy goods online and ‘collect’ in-store at their convenience by picking up their items instead of having them delivered. This service offers a wealth of speed and convenience benefits to customers (regardless of whether national lockdowns are in force) and long-term commercial benefits to businesses of all sizes and sectors.

Since Tesco launched its Click & Collect service in 2011, it’s been an increasingly popular delivery alternative for eCommerce in the UK and worldwide. In 2013, Statista estimated click and collect turnover to be worth 3.2 billion euros. By 2023, that number has been forecast to soar to 11.9 billion euros, thanks partly to the consumer shift that’s taken place as a result of Covid-19.

According to a survey from eCommerce Europe, the pandemic greatly impacted eCommerce as parcel deliveries were reportedly severely delayed across Europe. To better serve consumers, retailers across Europe resorted to offering click and collect services. However, due to different lockdown rules across EU member states, click and collect services were fragmented in the region. The majority of survey respondents stated that click and collect, either with or without restrictions, was available in their country.

In the UK, click and collect grew substantially in popularity in the wake of the pandemic. In 2020, at least 80% of retail shops offered click and collect in the UK, which translates to an increase of 32% since 2019, according to data from Statista. In January 2021, several UK retailers announced they would stop offering click and collect temporarily to minimise the spread of Covid-19. Topshop, JD Sports and John Lewis were among the leading retailers who removed this service; however, essential retailers such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s continued offering consumers the option to click and collect throughout the lockdown.

Covid-19 tested the operational resilience of all retailers and the patience of consumers everywhere. Fortunately for everyone, Click and Collect, with its in-built safety mechanism of not requiring customers to spend time in a physical shop, stepped in to save the day.

How does Click & Collect work?

Your customers will see two options for obtaining their goods at your checkout: “Home delivery” and “Click & Collect”. When they choose “Click and Collect”, customers select a relevant local store to collect from and a time and date for when. After paying, customers also get sent a form of communication with information on how to collect their order – often a code or a specific location in the store – usually via email.

In some cases, further proof of purchase like an ID or payment method may be required at the “Collect” stage. The order is then processed by the retailer as usual but, instead of being shipped to a delivery address, it is moved to the collection point in time for the arranged time.

Why is Click & Collect trending?

While online shopping is quickly becoming the most popular retail channel, many shoppers are still seeking an in-store experience. emerchantpay’s research showed that 38% of Gen X are more likely to increase their high street shopping after the pandemic; younger consumers seem to be craving in-store experiences. Brick and mortar shops are adapting to the needs of the new, hybrid consumer who is now more-than-ever demanding a marriage of the speed and convenience of online shopping carts with the power of in-person customer service. This calls for unified commerce, and one of the ways you can achieve it is through click and collect.

A survey conducted by First Insight found that shoppers are likely to fill their physical shopping carts with more goods compared to their digital counterparts. For your customers, click and collect can be a perfect compromise between these two channels.

Here are some of the benefits of Click and Collect for your business, your customers and the community:

1. Click and Collect is faster than home delivery. Customers can often pick up their items same-day, but, more importantly, they can arrange pickup slots at their leisure rather than having to wait at home for a delivery slot which can mean staying vigilant or even cancelling plans.
2. Customers being able to collect their purchased goods on their own terms leads to more revenue for you. According to YouGov, 24% of customers use online services less regularly when faced with difficulties booking delivery slots.
3. Quicker fulfilment of orders as there is no possibility of delivery issues, which can and do happen often.
4. It’s a great option if you’re running on limited resources. For smaller businesses with limited staff numbers, Click & Collect can be a great alternative to the relatively high costs of running a delivery service.
5. Increased revenue in lockdowns and in general. Throughout 2020 and beyond, many businesses that previously operated solely on-site converted their business models to include click and collect, allowing them to stay open to trade. Having this option in place is also a good pre-emptive measure should any future lockdowns occur. Plus, adding another purchasing option always has the potential to boost revenue as it expands your consumer base.
6. Psychologically, Click and Collect can help reinforce a sense of community for consumers, encouraging them to get outside and spend with small businesses, both of which are crucial during lockdowns.
7. Tangibly, Click and Collect can save customers money (due to the lack of delivery fees involved), so they have more to spend at your store.

Who is Click and Collect for?

When it comes to considering whether you should add Click and Collect to your retail offering, size and sector are important factors. One of the larger Click and Collect role models is Greggs, a leading, UK-based bakery chain with more than 2,000 retail outlets throughout the country. In August of 2020, Greggs rolled out its Click & Collect service to 1,600 stores nationwide.

According to Tony Taylor, Business Change Director at Greggs, here were the thoughts behind this decision: “Click and Collect allows our customers to order and pay in advance for their Greggs favourites through this new digital service channel. With Click and Collect - and the services provided by Square - we now have the opportunity to serve our customers more conveniently - wherever and whenever they want - as well as being able to manage demand and queuing time in our shops in a more controlled and efficient manner.”

As beneficial as click and collect has been for Greggs, not every business has the resources or the capacity to roll out the service on such a large scale. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get involved if you run a smaller business. It simply means you have some more cost considerations to make – stock purchasing, stock movement and promotion costs are all things to think about.

In terms of which industries can adapt best to the click and collect model, food is an obvious one. Most restaurants, groceries and food and drinks shops can easily integrate click and collect with their existing online store and delivery options. But if you’re not in the food industry, this service could still be entirely viable – and valuable – for your business.

Here are some examples of different industries that are offering Click and Collect:

1. Fashion and home goods. A 2019 Global Data report found that clothing and footwear was responsible for nearly 60% of spending in 2018, making it the biggest sector within the Click and Collect market at the time.
2. Alternative food suppliers. Local Greens, a weekly vegetable box subscription service in London, has been running a Click and Collect service by partnering with local pubs and leveraging on outdoor locked cupboards to protect the health and safety of their staff and customers while also benefitting the local community.
3. Car dealers and public libraries. Unlikely sectors like these have been given permission to stay open during lockdowns if providing click and collect. In times of crisis like the Covid-19 lockdowns, with restrictions impacting all businesses, everyone is considering the service.

The bottom line? As long as you have a product to sell, any business in any sector can benefit from adding Click and Collect to their offering.

emerchantpay is here for the future of payments

emerchantpay works with retail brands to streamline their payments offering across all channels, online and in-store, and to scale their operations domestically and cross-border. With shoppers eager to move seamlessly across retail channels, it’s more integral than ever to enable them to pay across touchpoints, however they want. Our global payments solution is available through a simple integration, offering a wealth of features, including global acquiring, alternative payment methods, fraud and risk management and performance optimisation.

If you want to know more about how you can integrate Click and Collect with our payment services, get in touch with one of our experts today.