Argos Opened New DC and Sainsbury's Collection Points in Advance of Black Friday

In the lead-up to Black Friday, Argos opened 14 more stores within Sainsbury's supermarkets and 100 additional Argos collection points to cater for the huge uplift in demand. 

Argos has also opened a brand new regional fulfilment centre in Croydon to give more customers in London and the south east faster access to more products via its market-leading Fast Track delivery and Click & Collect services this Black Friday. Argos has invested £2.5 million in the new centre, which will benefit 3.4 million households in the area.

The new 69,000 sq. ft. facility will enable Argos to fulfil a greater number of same-day Fast Track delivery orders in the south east region, including London and stores will now be able to supply 15,000 more products for customers to Click & Collect on the same or next day. The new fulfilment centre creates 140 jobs for the local Croydon area.

Fast Track delivery, which offers market-leading home delivery in as little as four hours, is a key point of difference for Argos. The retailer expects to see a double-digit increase in Fast Track orders over the Black Friday and Christmas period.

There are now 266 Argos stores in total inside Sainsbury’s with an additional eight expected to open ahead of Christmas. They enable customers to pick up orders as well as browse and buy from Argos at the same time as shopping for groceries. The addition of 100 more collection points means there are now 326 in Sainsbury’s supermarkets and Local stores nationwide. More Argos points of presence make it extra convenient for the millions of customers who opt for Argos’s Click & Collect service to pick up their orders close to where they live and work. 

John Rogers, Argos CEO, said: “Black Friday is no longer just about great deals; the new battleground is speed and convenience and getting customers what they want, when they want it. That’s why we’ve invested to make this Black Friday the most convenient ever for customers.

“Our teams have worked extra hard in the run up to Black Friday to ensure customers can conveniently pick up their bargains. As well as fantastic Click & Collect options, our store-to-door Fast Track service offers delivery in as little as four hours, seven days a week. We’re excited to bring this service to even more customers thanks to our new Croydon regional fulfilment centre, which will process Fast Track deliveries alongside local stores.”

Argos expects Black Friday to be a predominantly online event again this year. Black Friday last year saw 13,496 visits a minute to the Argos website and apps with 79 per cent of these visits from mobile phones and tablets. There were almost one million visits to Argos’s stores on the day and Click & Collect sales were up 38 per cent and Fast Track delivery sales were up 37 per cent year-on-year. Argos expects top-selling products this year to include video gaming hardware and software, tablets, smart technology and televisions

Source : Insight DIY, Argos and Sainsbury's

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