See our interview comments from Melody’s Operations Director, Tim Carter.
Here we offer broader view on the retail landscape talking about Click and Collect Partnerships, and how these benefit retailers with a physical presence as well as ecommerce businesses like Amazon.
Is this the perfect time for retailers to enter click and collect partnerships?
“Yes, as manifestly it allows an ecommerce retailer to offer another delivery channel to enable the sale, and ultimately allows the consumer more options. That retailer gets to cut down on the costs associated with the last mile of delivery.
“The physical retailer benefits from increased footfall and the opportunity to market their own products or services to those consumers arriving to collect packages. Over a third of retailers have reported an increase in revenue following the establishment of a click and collect service.”
Should retailers be considering entering partnerships with other retailers to offer customers click and collect amid the pandemic?
“Retailers can benefit from this broader delivery network option to bring more choice to the consumer. In the times of COVID, local and metro-style retailers have become standard bearers for the community, a support network and lifeblood for many.
“Convenience plays a large factor here – the ability to offer consumers a way to access the product they have purchased online, at a short distance from their home in many cases, is fundamental. For some, getting to large out of town stores has been too great a risk to run during the pandemic and subsequently these local retail hubs have proved invaluable.
“It can work both ways for retailers, too, with Sainsbury’s now seeding its products in Dobbie’s Garden Centres. This isn’t necessarily something new, with the likes of Cook selling their food ranges in Garden Centres for some time. But what it does allow for Sainsbury’s is additional reach to those more risk-averse customers who feel happier entering a ‘safer’ semi-open environment.
“Acquiring grocery products from a trusted retailer at the same time they’re picking up their gladioli and fish food makes good sense.
“Click and collect partnerships ultimately enable physical retailers and ecommerce players to establish a symbiotic relationship – a mutual hosting of sorts. It benefits both sides of the arrangement via flexibility in delivery, increased footfall, upselling, cross-selling and impulse purchases.
Is click and collect crucial to any business?
“Click-and-collect is ultimately joining up the online and the physical. Home delivery has long been the default delivery option, so the ability to offer an additional delivery channel, at low or no cost for the consumer, is crucial. For many it’s a tipping point in the purchase journey.
“For those on a budget, popping down to their Co-Op Local to retrieve a parcel may just mean they are subsequently able to make it a viable purchase.
“That’s not to say there are no challenges: space to stow away packages until collection can be expensive, considering it’s taking away from the sales floor. Sales assistants might also need more time to sort and organise click-and-collect only deliveries.
Are the retailers that don’t offer click and collect falling behind?
“Remember when Amazon changed customer expectations when it began offering free delivery? The ability to click then collect when convenient has become an expectation for tech-savvy shoppers and those retailers who don’t offer such flexibility risk falling behind their competitors.
“Ultimately, it’s a competitive advantage that can act as a differentiator for retailers and increase in-store foot traffic – hence why third-party partners see the attraction – and upselling. It’s worth remembering too that retailers can save money and reduce their carbon footprint by having fewer home deliveries.”
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