In the highly competitive environment of the retail sector, successful businesses are those that keep up with current trends and introduce new innovative services. The focus should be on satisfying increasingly experienced consumers who, before making a purchase decision, have access to numerous options and information. The key to success lies in creating personalized experiences that attract and retain customers. Today, many consumers follow the principle ROPO (Reach Online Purchase Offline). Exactly, this supports the service
More about Click & Collect
One of the pioneering services in the omnichannel experience dates back quite a long time, and most of you are familiar with it and use it. Click & Collect is a modern approach and solution that changes the way customers shop. This service allows them to order products online and pick them up from a pre-determined location, which can be a physical store or a specially designated area.
What is the scope of the "Click & Collect" service?
- Europe is ahead of America: Over half of the retailers in Europe have implemented Click & Collect, compared to only 30% in the US.
- The forecasted turnover from Click & Collect sales in Europe is expected to reach 45 billion euros in 2023, representing an almost 100% increase compared to 2022.
- There has been a 208% growth in Click & Collect orders as a result of the pandemic, which has changed many things, including people's shopping preferences.
- Nearly 50% of customers prefer Click & Collect due to the absence of delivery costs.
- 50% of customers expect retailers to offer Click & Collect as a service.
The challenge for online retailers
Click & Collect, as an omnichannel model, presents retailers with some challenges regarding displaying inventory - store availability. The problem of data accuracy for inventory availability is often due to several factors: the use of leasing software, a large number of physical locations, and diverse sales channels.
Although it is not always that straightforward...
In order to provide customers with the most up-to-date information, some retailers need to employ more complex methods for presenting store availability, and even the "simple" stock levels need to be presented in a more intricate manner.
One of the examples in our practice is the online store Aiko XXXL, where the availability of a product in a specific furniture chain store can be displayed as a sample available for purchase with the option of delivery to that store. To optimize the process of updating inventory data across stores, we implemented a higher-level integration. Although this functionality may seem relatively simple at first glance, the truth is that many retailers face technological challenges and difficulties in finding a solution.
And yet, is it really that complicated?
- Challenge: In most cases, it is technological and related to the frequency of data updates and their accuracy.
- Problem: It often arises because customers see a product online, go to the physical store, and it is already out of stock. This creates a defect from what should be an effect.
- Solution: To avoid such situations, display not only whether the item is available in the selected store but also if its stock is close to depletion.
The boom of omnichannel
Click & Collect is becoming more and more appealing, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, with 50% of customers expecting retailers to offer this service.
There are two main concepts for Click & Collect that retailers offer
- Pick-up locations - these are designated places that vary depending on the retailer and service, such as physical stores, centers, and order collection points. Usually, the merchandise is transferred from a central warehouse to the store where customers pick up their orders.
- Distribution centers - most commonly, these are physical stores. Customers can purchase items available in specific physical stores and collect them at those locations, other designated points, or throughout the entire retail network.
After discussing the delivery options, let's now take a look at the online store's ordering process.
Click & Collect in the online store
When implementing the service in the e-commerce store, customers have the option to choose Click & Collect as a delivery option during the checkout process. After selecting their products, customers choose a convenient physical store to collect their order. The system checks the availability of the products in the selected store and offers various options to the customer.
The eternal fear: Retailers often worry about offering Click & Collect because they are not sure if:
- The two channels won't "cannibalize" each other.
- They have doubts about the offline staff's ability to provide good customer service.
- The service will maintain consistency, especially with a more flexible approach.
Best practices for implementing Click & Collect
To ensure optimal execution of Click & Collect, online retailers should consider several recommendations, including:
- Stores can serve as both distribution centers and pick-up locations.
- Timely and accurate transactional messages (e-mail, Viber, SMS).
- Not all stores need to be available for order placement.
- Training the staff or hiring additional personnel to ensure upselling.
- Dynamic delivery timeframes, depending on product availability in the selected store.
- Offering difficult-to-deliver items only through Click & Collect.
- Temporarily suspending Click & Collect in busy periods, such as campaigns.
- Always providing free delivery.
Once technological challenges and limitations are overcome, the key to successful Click & Collect implementation lies in process optimization. Once the service is up and running smoothly, you can focus on another important goal...
Improving the user experience and enhancing Click & Collect service:
Retailers who have already implemented the previous omnichannel elements can consider enhancing the user experience in their online store by implementing additional techniques for customer convenience. For example:
1. Preferred store selection: Retailers with a large number of stores can facilitate customers by providing the option to select and save their preferred store in their profile. This allows customers to view specific information about that store on product pages.
2. Catalog filtering by store: For retailers whose online stores combine inventory from various physical locations and products available only for online orders, it is a challenge to provide customers with the option to find products from a specific category in the most convenient store for them.
3. In-store returns option: Unlike the previous two functionalities that require only technical work, "In-store returns" pose a challenge for the retailer's business processes related to handling requests for returns at the store.
Processing in-store return requests:
- The specific store is notified via email that a customer is expected to come for a return.
- The store staff processes the return requests through a dedicated interface.
- Option to choose which stores can be enabled for return requests.
- Remote access for the operator, allowing them to see only orders from Store X without viewing returns from other stores.
Looking into the future:
Among the latest trends in the world of commerce, an innovative service is emerging, attracting more and more attention.
The concept of "reserve & collect" or "store booking" focuses on personalized service and process optimization. It is expected that major online retailers will implement this service, aiming to meet the needs and expectations of modern consumers for speed and efficiency in online shopping. As e-commerce continues to grow, customers expect to receive their purchases quickly and without delay. Retailers also face the challenge of providing a consistent and fast service that meets these new standards.
In line with this trend, the idea of "1-hour click and collect" emerges, prompting retailers to be highly efficient and provide immediate customer service. For customers, this means lightning-fast service and greater satisfaction with their shopping experience.
Click & Collect VS Reserve & Collect (store booking)
Click & Collect
- Methodology: The customer shops online from the retailer's store and chooses to pick up the items from a selected physical store.
- Payment: Mostly online.
- Delivery: Within a few days. Usually free.
- Advantages: Offering the entire retailer's portfolio available for ordering and collecting at any store.
- Challenges: Consolidating products from different warehouses. Internal stock traffic. Availability of a pickup location in the store. Engaging additional staff.
Reserve & Collect (store booking)
- Methodology: The customer reserves the chosen product in a specific store and goes to purchase it in-store.
- Payment: Offline.
- Delivery: Within a few hours. Always free.
- Advantages: Quick collection. Easy opportunity for upselling. Exempt from distance selling regulations. Bypasses the checkout process.
- Challenges: Ensuring 100% accurate inventory. Highly trained staff.
Maximizing the omnichannel experience in the online store:
The innovative functionalities of Click & Go, Click & find, and Click & try offer unique opportunities for customers and significantly ease store staff, taking shopping to a new era by combining the convenience of online shopping with personal contact and experiences in physical stores.
While only a few retailers have achieved such a high level of omnichannel experience, the global eCommerce scene already showcases such examples. More retailers are realizing the importance of integrating different channels and striving to offer similar services that combine online and offline experiences. There is certainly potential to expand these preferences to a wide range of retailers who want to create unforgettable shopping experiences for their customers.
Can you add any other interesting Click & Collect concepts that we haven't covered?
Conclusion
Click & Collect is not only a modern service but an inevitable part of the future of commerce. Nowadays, retailers must achieve a high level of omnichannel experience by investing in innovative technological solutions and meeting the needs of modern consumers. Retailers that provide personalized and convenient customer experiences will be competitive in the digital economy. Some of the most successful projects in our portfolio have trusted us and added this option for their customers. If you also want to guarantee convenience and flexibility for your customers and take the customer experience to another level, do not hesitate to reach out to your personal Project Manager for consultation. Contact us now!
