Almost half of UK shoppers used a click-and-collect service as part of their Christmas 2014 shopping, according to research from Postcode Anywhere.
The survey of 1,068 UK consumers found that 47% said that they used this delivery method for getting their Christmas shopping, with fashion, gadgets and household technology such as TVs, being among the most popular items.Bulkier items, such as furniture and kitchenware, were unsurprisingly found to be among the least likely to be routed for click-and-collect, with only 3% of respondents preferring that option for goods such as those.
These findings echo sentiments expressed by two leading lights of the UK high street, John Lewis and House of Fraser, who recently announced significant click-and-collect usage in the run up to Christmas. In the case of John Lewis, more than half (56%) of online orders were click-and-collect purchases, and at House of Fraser that figure was 37%. (see eDelivery 6 January 2015)
An interesting counter-point to the success of click-and-collect was revealed in research carried out by YouGov on behalf of supply chain systems developer, JDA. It found that 49% of people had missed a delivery and 45% has either received good late or not at all.
Jamie Turner, CTO of Postcode Anywhere commented: “It’s clear from this year’s survey that consumers want to be able to receive their purchases at a time and place that suits them. Two of the biggest barriers to ecommerce are the cost of delivery and inconvenient delivery times, making click and collect an increasingly attractive option for both shoppers and retailers alike.”
There are few, if any, indications that last year’s rise of click-and-collect will go into reverse. As such, those retailers – and carriers – that can offer shoppers flexible and reliable options could be well placed to set the pace in 2015.
