Shoppers 'Click'n'Collect' one in ten online sales

One in 10 online sales is now made through click and collect, according to new figures from eretail trade association IMRG.

The IMRG Capgemini Quarter Benchmarking Index for the third quarter of 2011 found that 10.4% of all ecommerce sales involved the buy online, collect in store service, up from 7.4% in the previous quarter. This, says the IMRG, is the strongest quarterly gain that has been recorded in the seven quarters it has been tracking the data.

The study also showed that 3.9% of ecommerce sales are now made through mobile devices, including tablets.Between the first quarter of 2010 and the third quarter of 2011, IMRG said, the proportion of sales made by mobile has grown by 975%. The proportion of website visits made from a mobile has grown by 585% from 1.4% to 8.2% over the same period.

David J Smith, chief marketing and communications officer at IMRG, said: “Delivery is one of the most important elements that make up the online shopping journey, and inconvenience at that stage can turn a positive experience into a bad one. Retailers need to ensure that they track and monitor consumer behaviour to understand what options are proving most popular, to ensure that the experience is as convenient and seamless as possible.”

Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, said: “The fact that both click & collect sales and sales via mobile devices are up shows that customers do want options when it comes to the online shopping experience.

“As we move into one of the busiest times of the year for eretail, this is a great opportunity for retailers to stand out amongst their competitors and give customers an improved experience. However we are still seeing a high level of checkout and basket abandonment; an indication that there is still work to be done by retailers to convert this demand into sales.”

Source: Chloe Rigby - Internet Retailing
http://www.internetretailing.net/2011/12/shoppers-click-and-collect-one-in-10-online-sales/