• 20% increase in click and collect locations from last year
  • As of Q4 2014, about 95% of those online stated they planned to use click and collect for some of their holiday shopping
  • For many retailers, offering click and collect will simply be a means to remain competitive

Deloitte predicts that the number of click and collect locations in Europe will reach half a million in 2015, a 20% increase on the previous year. Click and collect, whereby online orders are picked up from a neutral location rather than delivered to the purchaser's home, is likely to become an increasingly fundamental part of the e-commerce offer and should help maintain its growing share of retail spend. Rising e-commerce revenues should have a proportionate impact on Internet advertising revenues, as well as driving website creation and increasing bandwidth usage.

The appeal of e-commerce is well documented, and volumes continue to rise two decades on from the launch of the first Web shopping sites. Delivery has been the key friction point in e-commerce for both retailers – the direct cost to retailers of failed first-time delivery is over £600 million per year in the UK alone – and consumers.

In the UK, home-delivery volumes are expected to flatten out in 2015, suggesting that growth in e-commerce has to come from alternative delivery options. In Europe, the UK is currently the most mature e-commerce market, with 13% of all retail revenues from online in 2015, of which about a third will be click and collect. Revenues from click and collect more than doubled in the UK between 2012 and 2014, reaching £5.6 billion from 140 million orders. As of Q4 2014, about 95% of those online stated they planned to use click and collect for some of their holiday shopping.

Despite all these factors, Deloitte expects that for many retailers, offering click and collect will simply be a means to remain competitive and in some cases may be a reflex reaction to the launch of a service by a direct competitor.

A win-win for retailers and consumers?

Click and collect seemingly offers the best of both worlds: a wealth of choice in selection and flexibility in collection. Consumers are offered additional convenience, hopefully encouraging them to spend more; retailers avoid the cost of delivery to the home, and can utilise existing space.

But every element of delivery incurs a cost: every square meter of space used for storage displaces space that could be used for display, and any staff member processing a collection is unable to assist other customers. There are other additional costs to consider, for example a retailer may have to pay a rental cost for each use of a collection point.

Making purchasing more convenient for customers may also make it easier to return goods – unwanted items, when seen 'in the flesh', can easily be returned at the point of sale. This could stimulate 'buy-to-try' sales, leading to over-stocking of baskets, causing a surge in the volume of returns.

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