Click & collect to be worth £4bn in 2018 as online boom continues

Click & collect purchases are set to grow by more than two thirds to be worth over £4bn in 2018, according to a new report from retail analysts Verdict, as shoppers continue to place importance on convenience and speed.

Although click & collect growth will be fast, it will just be worth around 8 per cent of online sales in 2018, and 1.2 per cent of total retail sales.

Matthew Rubin, Analyst at Verdict says that Home delivery companies and pureplay online retailers are monitoring the development of click & collect and are reacting accordingly. He added: “They are looking to offer collection points at convenience stores and lockers, same day delivery, narrower delivery time slots, and improved tracking and updates of estimated delivery times.”

Earlier this month Waitrose announced that it will launch its own click and collect lockers next year.

The research which surveyed 10,000 online shoppers, also showed that the most used sector for click & collect purchases is clothing and footwear, with 23.5 per cent of online shoppers and 46.5 per cent of click & collect users having used the service in the sector. Rubin explains: “This is down to the frequent nature of clothing purchases and the ability to ensure size and range availability compared to store shopping as well as the shortened lead time compared to home delivery which can be crucial in some clothing transactions.”

The second-placed sector is electricals, which has 15.4 per cent penetration of online shoppers and 30.6 per cent of click & collect users.

Click & collect users are most likely to be female, between 25 and 44 years old and in the most affluent AB socio-economic group. .

The findings will place yet more emphasis on logistics and how retailers can adapt to shoppers personalised needs. “This represents both an opportunity and a warning for retailers”, says Rubin. “With so many potential new users, retailers must invest in having adequate space, stock maintenance, and logistics to cope with the pressure.”

Source: Michael Somerville