Why Collect in Store matters in online selling
Online selling became synonymous with delivery because the biggest successes of early ecommerce were not traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers. But the tide is turning back towards Collect in Store, driven by a number of factors, and the travel circle is widening as buyers decide if the effort of the journey outweighs a delivery process that has the potential to become more difficult.
Some buyers are even opting to send their own courier to collect items, rather than make the journey themselves or rely on the offered delivery service.
Why is Collect in Store becoming more popular?
There’s no definitive reason for Collect in Store seeing an increase in popularity, but various factors could be in play. The rise of online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic may have introduced more people to the concept of click-and-collect, particularly when delivery slots were hard to come by. Regular online shoppers may well have had a bad experience with a courier or delivery service resulting in lengthy and frustrating customer service processes to resolve. There’s also the benefit of saving on postage and packaging costs, particularly for larger items.
How the climate emergency is driving Collect in Store
But the biggest driver is the circular economy – reduce, reuse, recycle. Environmentally conscious consumers are thinking twice about buying new items of clothing when the quality second-hand market is so accessible. By opting to Collect in Store, buyers can see the clothes they’re buying and whether they’re likely to fit without having to go through an inconvenient returns process via courier. They’ll also save money on delivery costs.
Collect in Store – benefits to charities
As well as being what many buyers want, Collect in Store benefits charities, who can move items to a branch near the buyer for collection (without crediting the sale to the collection store) and save on packaging and postage costs. It should also reduce returns, either for items that were not deemed to meet the description or for those damaged in transit.
Even though the Collect in Store sale is credited to the shop that listed the item, there are benefits for the collection point too. Collect in Store can lead to browse-and-buy purchases, and may also prompt buyers to drop off donations of their own used items for resale. Either way, buyers making a physical journey to the shop increases footfall, which is always a good thing.
Another benefit of Collect in Store that has become apparent more recently is that it allows the premises to operate ‘dark’ – effectively to turn itself into a retail warehouse without opening to walk-in customers. As many shops have found out during enforced closures, this is a great way to continue trading without keeping the door open and could also be useful for extending business hours or covering staff shortages.
Collect in Store – best of both worlds
Collect in Store offers the breadth of market of online selling, with the convenience, speed and cost reductions of traditional retail. It’s a win for buyers and charities, giving both more flexibility, particularly for clothing, high value, large and breakable items.