How Click and Collect Grows Sales and Supports The High Street
It may have taken a global pandemic for some retailers - and customers - to see its huge appeal, but Click and Collect is now proving to be a lucrative sales and business growth strategy. It’s important to bear in mind that the concept is not a replacement for traditional brick and mortar business, but rather an extension. The very best business model for an IBD is a combination of virtual and real presence, and ensuring both are an exemplary and effortless experience for the customer. We find out more...
How does Click and Collect work?
A concept that is as brilliant as it is simple, Click and Collect enables customers to purchase online but then come in-store to collect.
In Germany alone, shoppers last year spent €4.6-billion via Click and Collect, with 75% of internet users knowing the service and 44% having used it at least once in 2020.
We find out why customers increasingly expect this service and why retailers can’t afford to ignore it.
What are the benefits of Click and Collect for customers?
Customer convenience
Customers want retail to work around them and their lifestyle. For this reason, they expect not just Click and Collect, but also multi-channel sales options (the flexibility to purchase from your store, site or any of your social media accounts). You’ve got to be visible to be irresistible!
Customers want to save time
Click and Collect gives customers that Holy Grail; time. They want to efficiently and safely transact online rather than risk standing in a queue.
Face-to-face exceptional customer service
Never underestimate the pull and power of human interaction. Customers want the efficiency of an online sale, yes, but many still get a kick out of seeing you, hearing what you have to say, and letting you make them feel valued in person.
So, when it comes to Click and Collect there are plenty of pros for the customer. However, as it turns out, the big winner here is you, the retailer.
What are the benefits of Click and Collect for retailers?
Increase sales online AND for your High Street store
Last year in Germany, Click and Collect accounted for nearly 6,5 per cent of the total eCommerce revenue. So that’s online sales that feed into real-life, in-store transactions. That may sound counter-intuitive, but this suggests that establishing a presence online will, in fact, contribute to your brick and mortar success.
Indeed, 92 per cent of customers now ROPO (research online, purchase offline). This means they want to visit your brick and mortar store, eventually, but only if they firstly find you online.
And don’t just think about the virtual transaction! Once the customer arrives in-store, there’s your chance for an upsell in person.
Reduce refunds and returns
Refunds and returns don’t balance out the ledger; they come at a hard cost typically carried by you. Click and Collect bypasses this almost entirely - the customer has an opportunity to get fitted in-store, feel the texture, check the colour, etc. In short, they leave satisfied and unlikely to return the item and request a refund.
Reduce retail shipping costs
Click and Collect means the customer is funding their journey to your store instead of you paying to deliver a package to them. Why give the money to FedEx when it can stay in your pocket?
Treading water during a lockdown
As many retailers have now experienced, a sudden lockdown could curtail or even temporarily close your business overnight.
Again this is where the online world provides a potential work-around. Click and Collect may bypass some lockdown restrictions and can - local rules pending - allow you to ‘Click and Meet’ (making an online appointment to shop in a brick and mortar store) during a pandemic.
Make it easy for customers to support local
Customers want to help their local area; they really do. But if you don’t make it easy as pie for them to do so, rest assured someone bigger, better and further away will.
How to introduce Click and Collect to your IBD
If you’re online and you’re eCommerce enabled, then Click and Collect is almost, well, a click away. If, however, you still need to set up an online presence, then here are some helpful tips:
- Make sure the online solution will enable seamless, effortless integration with your store’s POS.
- Ensure the online solution is not only eCommerce enabled but will cater for all kinds of purchase and collecting behaviour (e.g. purchase online, reserve online but pay in-store). The more flexible you are, the more attractive you are.
- Find an online solution that delivers the very best financial and personal data security for you and your customers.
- Look for a solution with the most competitive rates - watch out for fine print regarding commissions, merchant cost, set-up fees etc. Ensure you’re dealing with a fully transparent outfit.
- Make sure the online and offline store experience is exemplary. Win the sale and the loyalty. Wow your customer at every step of the way!
Click and Collect is easy to implement and creates additional sales revenue for your business across the board, not just online. Even if you see yourself as a brick and mortar bike store, investing online can safeguard your traditional business model.
Do you want to build an online presence for your shop and offer click and collect to your customers? Then contact us, we will help you.