With ecommerce giant eBay recently announcing its click and collect tie-in with Argos and Amazon’s ‘locker delivery scheme’, it’s clear to see that there’s a growing demand for customers to have the option to collect their purchases in-store rather than awaiting home delivery.
A recent survey conducted by Quail Digital, a retail communication specialist, revealed that 72% of online supermarket customers would prefer to collect a high proportion of the online orders they make rather than wait for a home delivery. For DIY stores and out-of-town retail park shoppers, this figure was 62%.
44% of those surveyed cited that the convenience of collecting their orders to ensure they weren’t tied to a delivery slot was their most important reason, with nearly 20% highlighting their preference for collection as it was in many cases cheaper than having their online order delivered.
Of those who prefer to pick up goods in-store, 64% cited goods being ready for collection and staff being quick with the transaction as being crucial to their decision.
One way to ensure that purchases get into the customers hands as quickly as possible is to operate customer arrival speaker posts at an allocated drive to/thru point at the store, which are in turn connected to wireless headsets used by staff in the delivery area.
The technique vastly improves delivery times because speaking to the customer the moment they arrive in the car park enables the fulfilment team to capture the name and order reference early, removing any need to get out of the car or queue in-store.
Tom Downes, CEO of Quail Digital, said: “The trick is to make the fulfilment of click and collect as quick and simple as possible for customers when they arrive at the store. They will come back time and time again if it’s easy. The drive-thru or drive-to speaker concept has worked effectively for the fast food market for many years. It’s about capturing orders early, giving extra time for staff to assemble the goods.
“Using wireless headsets connected to the order point give staff the mobility they need to multi-task greeting customers while fulfilling orders.”
What is clear is that, this Christmas, consumers will be making purchases online and collecting more orders than ever and there is a real need for retailers to get their communication and system correct in order to deliver an efficient and professional click and collect service to their customers.
Source: Quail Digital
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