Roughly one in 10 online orders in the U.K. is picked up in a physical store; growth in 'click and collect' attributed to concerns about reliability of online delivery

Allison Oesterle

LOS ANGELES , December 14, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – As U.K. online customers increasingly order items online and then pick them up in-store, nearly one out of 10 online orders are picked up in a brick-and-mortar store, Internet Retailer reported on Dec. 13.

Integrated Management Resources Group Inc., says that US$1.237 billion worth of online deliveries last year were bungled due to several heavy snowstorms. People’s memories of the delays may potentially have contributed to U. K. online shoppers’ increasing propensity to buy items online and then pick them up in-store.

Andy Mulcahy, a communications manager at IMRG, said, “It’s really about providing the consumer with as much choice as possible. […] C&C [click & collect, the British name for ordering an item online and then picking it up in-store] provides that level of control that consumers want.”

John Lewis Plc., says that, over the past year, the number of people who ordered items online and then picked them up at one of its 28 department stores grew twice as fast as the rate of John Lewis’ online sales; 20% of John Lewis’ online orders are now picked up in store.

Online Tesco customers can, for a £2 fee, arranged to pick up their order during a prearranged two-hour time slot on any day of the week.

Ian Geddes, the head of retail at Deloitte U.K. LLC, predicted that there will be a 15% increase in the number of online sales in the U.K. over the holiday season, fuelled in part by an increase in the number of people that make sales via mobile device and arrange to pick up the item in-store.

He also said that, overall, it has been projected that there will be no retail growth in the U.K. over the holiday season.

The U.K. Centre for Retail Research has estimated that, by 2015, 50% of Christmas shopping will be done online.

The primary source of this article is Internet Retailer, Chicago, Illinois, on Dec. 13, 2011.

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