Retail surgery: Click-and-collect: What do I need to have in place?

Despite the success of click-and-collect, retailers need to ensure their offer is up to the job, says Alan Ellerton, account director of the retail division at consultancy Simpson Carpenter.

Ellerton says the most commonly reserved items include toys and games, small electricals and homewares and entertainment products. He says: “Long-time click-and-collect pioneer Argos has done much to set consumers’ expectations for this service.

“To be successful, click-and-collect retailers must take every opportunity, from media advertising to website design to store staff, to encourage shoppers to use click-and-collect while ensuring their stock systems are up to date for each individual store in real time.”

Retailers must provide a seamless service, minimise the potential for customer disappointment and ensure stock is not kept unavailable for sale for longer than necessary.

Ellerton says some supermarkets that offer click-and-collect tend to pick items from the shopfloor, making it difficult for stock availability to be guaranteed. This can often lead to substitutions for out-of-stock items and frustrated customers.

Guaranteed product availability and convenience drive the use of click-and-collect, Ellerton says. He adds: “It is therefore vital that retailers tell customers loud and clear about the service. And retailers must have systems in place to deliver fully on the promise.” In particular, customers need to be able to isolate a reserved item so it can’t be sold to, or reserved by, anyone else.