Does Click and Collect increase sales?

Click and collect was already growing prior to the Covid disaster, it was easy, fast, and efficient. Also, it had the advantage of removing the human-factor interaction from the delivery process. Something that not even traditional delivery options were able to achieve in a 100%. 

The direct-to-your-door normal deliveries from DHL, MRW, or any other courier, always had the slim chance - due to not being absolutely able to pinpoint the exact delivery time - of producing an undesirable interaction between the customer and person in charge of the delivery. 

That was one of the reasons behind the success of Amazon Amazon lockers at your local supermarket: you didn’t have to talk to anybody to collect your goods. 

But, how has the click and collect delivery option fared in the covid and post-covid world? And, could it be true that having this as an option actually increases the sales, at least in America? Let us find out! 

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How does click and collect works? 

At the very beginning, click and collect was a solution for small businesses that did not have a strong delivery partner or the support of a major courier company that would allow them to deliver their goods - sold online - to the doors of their clients. 

In this first iteration, the click and collect format worked by having the customer go to the physical store and pick the goods he already paid for online. 

Nowadays, the click and collect format is mostly based on the use of fulfillment networks and “locker systems” like the Amazon Lockers or Citybox Lockers. 

It is precisely this iteration the one that has achieved a higher degree of acceptance and success among the consumers in America and in the UK. 

Click and Collect impact on the UK 

The click and collect market has a projected 45% percent growth - almost £10bn - by 2023, according to GlobalData research, and retailers are planning to capitalize on this demand with 90 percent intending to invest in the service over the next five years, according to Barclaycard.

???? The Barclaycard study finds that almost nine in ten retailers (87%) say is their fastest-growing delivery option, with seven in ten shoppers (68%) now choosing to pick up online orders in-store. Convenience appears to be a driving factor behind this trend, with 42 percent of consumers saying that they rely on these services because they are out during the day, and a further 15% select this option because they cannot have deliveries sent to work. ????

And in the USA? 

Seems like click and collect had an amazing period during this past 2020-2021 sales season. American shoppers spent $72.46 billion using it, a 106.9% growth rate over 2019. 

It jumped from a 5.8% share of all retail eCommerce sales to a 9.1% share. And total buyers jumped from 127.4 million people to 143.8 million people, a 12.9% growth rate, according to eMarketer Click and Collect report. 

????Walmart, The Home Depot, Best Buy, Target, and Lowe’s accounted for $44.2 billion of the $72.46 billion total for the US last year. Click and collect accounted for 41.9% of combined eCommerce sales at these five companies and an eye-opening 50.2% of their combined 2020 eCommerce growth.???? 

All in all, click and collect has benefited a lot from the Covid pandemic. The fact that no human contact is needed to pick your goods from lockers and other similar containers, has made this a perfect option for our current troubled times. 

And if we combined this with the obvious efficiency of not having to go to a store to pick up your goods at a specific time, or having to wait for a delivery that it’s barely impossible to exactly pin-point when will arrive, we have all the tools to confidently assure that click and collect will continue to grow in the next years.