Click and Collect drives sales and revenue
Countless e-commerce companies have learned that by offering Click and Collect they can improve customer satisfaction, lower customer service expenses, and possibly reduce carbon emissions. Click and collect has long been considered a great way to increase online conversions too, simply by giving online shoppers a safe way to receive their parcels, when home delivery isn’t an option.
There are clear environmental benefits. Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), as it’s sometimes called, or pick up and drop off (PUDO), is thought to emit 68% less carbon dioxide than a standard home delivery service.[1] This is due to increased first-time delivery rates and the fact that more products are sent to one place, dramatically cutting courier transit miles. The ease of collection is a hit with consumers; it’s a dependable method to locate their packages, and it simplifies returns.
Without a doubt, it is worthwhile offering customers the option of Out of Home delivery (OOH). Click and Collect shopping accounted for 40% of all e-commerce sales in the UK in 2022, up from 37% in 2021, and is valued at over £42 billion annually here.[2] Major stores, like John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, and the top fashion brands, claim that simply by providing the service, they have increased sales.
Overseas shoppers have embraced Click and Collect in recent years too. It is expected to be worth US$154 billion in domestic retail sales in the USA by 2025, up from US$113 billion in 2023, according to Statista[3]. In many European countries[4] demand is increasing. Understandably, British online sellers growing internationally would love to offer this service to customers in a variety of other markets. Yet, this is obviously made difficult by the lack of a store network in overseas locations, and limited local knowledge.
Where retailers and brands currently offer worldwide shipping, this service, if correctly implemented, is likely to dazzle potential customers and inspire them to place their first, and numerous further orders.
Here are my top tips for setting up international Click and Collect.
Check delivery preferences in your target markets
It’s critical to comprehend regional and demographic preferences for local delivery. My advice is to research how well each target market is set up for Click and Collect and place your delivery alternatives accordingly. Speaking with your shipping partners can assist you to learn what is feasible country by country.
In terms of network density, the majority of European nations have reached critical OOH penetration levels. According to the general rule, OOH adoption starts to grow exponentially once there are 10 delivery sites for every 10,000 people. The demand for Click and Collect is growing quickly in China and the USA. Home delivery appears to still be the preferred option in Switzerland and France; this may just be a cultural irregularity. On the other hand, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden adore OOH.[5]
Think about the greatest OOH placement for you and your customer.
Three key methods are being used by retail companies and brands to apply OOH models in foreign markets:
- Players like InPost (Poland), Amazon (worldwide), Lowes (US), or Decathlon (Europe) use Smart Lockers or Automated Parcel Machines (APM), which are typically accessed with an app.
- Making use of third-party locations, where customers pick up their purchases at a partner store location, such as a 7-Eleven store and PayPoint dedicated ‘partner’ stores.
- Using ‘carrier owned’ facilities, where customers pick up from local post offices or parcel stores.
Concentrate on the ‘easiest’ spots, where established Click and Collect hubs are. Don’t forget to research the density of any suggested network as well as the proximity of the pickup point to the consumers. Of course, you should carefully weigh the cost of Click and Collect delivery compared to other options.
Make sure your website and the Click and Collect solution work together effectively
As well as setting up the logistics, you need to iron out the practical issues of communicating the service to customers, and ensuring all eventualities are planned for. How will locations appear on your website and in communications with customers? What details will be needed to get in touch with the customer, and how will that be handled? What will the customer experience be like if things don’t go according to plan? This could well be the most crucial aspect to consider, as you don’t want to irritate customers and lose them due to poor service handling.
It will be extremely helpful for all of these factors if your e-commerce shipping provider is familiar with your target markets and collaborates with last-mile delivery partners and OOH parcel hubs in these locations.
The best package shipping companies will be obsessed with CX in today’s competitive market because they understand how important first impressions are to the e-commerce delivery industry. While not all of your international consumers will prefer Click and Collect—home delivery may still be your main priority— however, offering choice could elevate you to the top of your field.
[1] Pargo study https://pargo.co.za/uncategorized/pargo-click-collect-produces-68-less-carbon-emissions-than-home-delivery
[2] What’s in store for retail? from Barclays Corporate Banking https://www.barclayscorporate.com/content/dam/barclayscorporate-com/documents/insights/Industry-expertise-22/whats-in-store-for-retail.pdf
[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1132001/click-and-collect-retail-sales-us/
[4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/986388/click-and-collect-turnover-european-countries/
[5] DPDgroup 2021 e-shopper barometer study conducted in 33 countries worldwide, including 21 European countries.
