Fulfilment service Collect+ has doubled sales as its popularity with shoppers and retailers continues to grow.
Why are we talking about this now?
The service, which uses convenience stores as pick-up points for shopper orders, revealed last week that it handled 7.7 million transactions in the past year. It also said sales more than doubled to £17.8m over the year to the end of March. Five new retailers are signing up each month.
What is Collect+?
The service, a joint venture between delivery giant Yodel and payments group PayPoint, was established in 2009. It groups together a network of more than 5,250 convenience stores and petrol stations to which orders from retailers can be delivered, returned to and tracked. Some retailers including Littlewoods owner Shop Direct Group have promoted it as the main click-and-collect option.
Which retailers use Collect+?
Etailers such as eBay, Asos and Shop Direct were early adopters because it gave them a physical presence for customers to receive orders and, importantly, make returns.
Multichannel retailers soon joined the league to increase their convenience to customers. John Lewis, Clarks, Hobbs and Schuh have all signed up in the past 12 months. The proposition also allows out-of-town retailers such as Asda to reach in-town shoppers and those who don’t drive. Other retailers that use Collect+ include House of Fraser, Wiggle, Amazon and Topshop.
What are the benefits of using the service?
Click-and-collect has surged in popularity - it accounts for 25% of John Lewis’ online sales - as customers look for ease in receiving orders. Shoppers often resent trekking to a Post Office collection depot to pick up parcels delivered when they’re not at home.
Collect+ allows customers to pick up online orders at a time that is convenient. The fact that 40% of Collect+ customers collect their parcels outside of traditional working hours shows that it solves a problem for time-poor employees.
Are there rival providers?
Competitors such as MyHermes ParcelShop and collection locker specialist ByBox have also sprung up.
What are the drawbacks?
Collection is an important part of the shopping experience, which is why retailers have heavily invested in creating click-and-collect points in store. By using Collect+, retailers put their brand image in the hands of 5,250 convenience store owners. A poor customer experience could reflect badly on the retail brand, which could explain why few luxury players have adopted Collect+ yet.
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