Click-and-collect drives additional in-store sales
Nearly one-third of U.S. shoppers say they plan to use click-and-collect services when purchasing gifts this holiday season. This, says Shopatron, is a win-win situation for retailers as 40% of consumers make additional purchases in-store when they pick up their online purchases.
Furthermore, retailers save on shipping costs while driving foot traffic to stores.
However, in order for the click-and-collect to work, the process needs to be easy and hassle-free for customers, and many retailers are unprepared to provide the experience consumers demand.
According to Forrester Research, 70% of U.S. online consumers said they partake in buy online, pick-up in-store options. Earlier this year, King Retail Solutions asked shoppers in the U.S. if they were interested in buying online and picking up in-store – more than three-quarters (78%) said they were game. In fact, almost half of those polled said they had already taken this route in the past year.
Yet, a study earlier this year by RIS News found that only 21% of U.S. retail execs had up-to-date technology in place to handle the process seamlessly. Without the necessary processes in place, retailers risk products not being available at the correct time, thus causing a customer a wasted trip and damaging their reputation.