August 9, 2021 
Since lockdown measures are slowly being lifted, retailers are preparing to reopen and re-establish contact with their clients while adhering to health authority instructions.
For consumers who aren’t yet ready to shop in-store, Click & Collect is emerging as an alternative, with a 45.8% growth rate expected over the next five years in the UK. In this article, you’ll learn how the lockdown has developed this model’s importance and why you should integrate it into your operations as soon as possible.
Click & Collect: The New Standard!
Due to the closure of non-essential shops last March, many customers turned to the internet for their purchases. The food sector’s digital shift is likely to be accelerated by the pandemic, which has already seen strong growth in e-commerce in just a few weeks. As part of the increase, many consumers have been requesting Click & Collect as an alternative to shopping at the store for their weekly groceries.
Lockdown has also forced non-food retailers to adjust their models in response to the closure of their physical stores. Some players have stepped up their e-commerce efforts as well as improving their in-store merchandise withdrawal systems. Several brands have been relaunched in the short term as a result. Even pubs have innovated by allowing their residents to place household staples and pick them up from their local pub. The Click & Collect initiative should remain a part of the shopping experience, at least for the foreseeable future, despite stores opening in May.
What is the Click-and-Collect Model all about?
The Click-and-Collect method is also referred to as BOPIS (Buy Online and Pick Up Instore), curbside pick-up, and ROPIS (Reserve online, pick up in-store). Using it, customers can place an order online and pick it up whenever they want.
BOPIS sales in 2019 were already up by approximately 35% during the holiday season, and the pandemic has accelerated this growth.
By using omnichannel fulfillment methods, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops can enjoy better customer service and more convenient shopping. No one has to wait in line or look forward to the arrival of their order. In this case, companies will sell their product while also driving more sales, which is a win-win for both. It makes both the retailer and the customer’s lives easier when services are personalized.
How does it work?
BOPIS is a retail success story mainly due to ease. It is the customer’s choice when to pick up an order and can do so at any time. The click-and-collect fulfillment model is pretty straightforward, as shown below:
- Item is purchased online: Purchasing is done through the website or mobile application. During check out, customers must specify the time and the location for pick up. Customers are notified of pick-up availability via inventory updates.
- Order is fulfilled: There are two possible outcomes here. In one case, the customer is notified via email or text message when the item is available in-store. A second instance occurs when the item is not available at the store and must first be ordered from another store.
- Order is collected: Customers can pick up their orders in-store or at a designated location. The customer can also pick up their order at the storefront, if they wish, by driving to the storefront.
Why Choose Click & Collect?
A couple of years ago, Click & Collect was launched to digitize retail points of sale and enhance consumer buying flexibility. Consumers can now make online purchases and then pick up their assets from the store of their choice after they click and collect. Many brands and retailers have adopted click & Collect. Your lead times have increased during the lockdown, but you reduce your lead times by utilizing this delivery method.
Additionally, consumers receive faster delivery and don’t incur shipping costs. This format allows you to order directly from your store’s inventory, transforming your point of sale into a warehouse. In addition to providing customers with a convenient way to fulfill their orders, click-and-collect is beneficial to retailers. The study by Invesp indicates that nearly half of shoppers who pick up orders make additional purchases. Since the customer is likely to check the order before it leaves the store, this fulfillment method also reduces exchanges and returns.
This method is easy for customers. Online shopping offers more options than physical stores, and completing a transaction takes less time. For example, a grocery store will allow curbside pick-up after items are purchased online. Saving money on shipping is another advantage. Statista reports that 51 percent of US citizens refuse to pay delivery charges.
The Final Quote
Over four in 10 consumers worldwide value the flexibility of Click and Collect, according to iVend Retail’s February 2019 report.
There were 81.4% of online shoppers worldwide who reported picking up their items in person in 2018 (a 30 percent increase over the previous year), as the convenience and speed of the service continue to attract customers. Most respondents used click-and-collect services because they wanted to avoid shipping fees, while roughly 45% said it helped them save time by eliminating the need to shop in-store.
