Click and Collect Holds Growth Potential for Retailers

Provide solutions that help your clients manage the buy online, pick up in-store option accurately and profitably.

Click and collect is not a new concept – it’s been an option in most countries for more than a decade. When the pandemic began, however, consumers placed orders online more frequently. To demonstrate, in 2018, turnover for click and collect purchases in the UK was 6.9 billion euros. By 2023, click and collect turnover is expected to exceed 11 billion euros. Statista research also found substantial click-and-collect growth in Germany and France. Furthermore, click-and-collect turnover in the rest of Europe is anticipated to reach 45.1 billion euros by 2023, nearly doubling from turnover in 2018.

Picking up online orders in-store or curbside is often more favorable than delivery, helping consumers to get their merchandise more quickly and save on shipping charges. Retailers who recognize the demand for this trend and provide good click-and-collect experiences stand to differentiate their businesses and boost revenue growth.

What Your Retail Clients Need to Offer Click and Collect Effectively

While some retailers may have quickly implemented a “good enough” solution to get through the pandemic, they are now looking to fine-tune their solutions for the best ROI and customer experience. You can provide upgraded or new solutions to help retailers increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their click-and-collect processes, such as:

E-Commerce and Point of Sale Integration

Consumers have no patience for post-purchase messages related to the unavailability of products that the website said were in stock online at the time of checkout. This can occur because of the lack of e-commerce integration with the in-store point of sale (POS) system. A customer orders the product online, but before a store sees that order, customers in the brick-and-mortar store purchase the last of the items on hand. Help your retailer deploy an integrated system for the best consumer experience and to avoid potential revenue loss from dissatisfied customers.

Integration also provides data from all channels that merchants can use to understand customers better and personalize service to enhance their experiences.

Inventory Management for the Supply Chain

Retailers need an automated way to accurately track and manage inventory across all channels and throughout the product journey. Smart technology solution providers are helping merchants implement electronic data interchange (EDI), which enables information sharing in a standard format. Automating the flow of information between retailers and suppliers brings advantages like faster inventory turns, increased storage efficiency, reduced bottlenecks, and real-time, up-to-the-minute inventory updates, no matter the shopping channel.

Warehouse Management and Micro-Fulfillment Center Solutions

McKinsey reports that e-commerce growth in Northern Europe saw a CAGR of 19 percent from 2019 to 2021. Southern Europe saw a more dramatic increase of 27 percent; however, penetration is lower in this region at less than 10 percent in the same period.

With more orders to fill, merchants need to optimize picking, packing, and shipping or in-store pickup. Some merchants will ship from the store, but merchants with a higher volume of orders will use a distribution center or establish a micro-fulfillment center. These merchants will require technology, including mobile solutions, barcode or RFID scanners, warehouse racking, and conveyors, to increase efficiency and control costs.

Payments

Today’s consumers expect to be able to pay using the method that is most convenient for them, regardless of where they engage. Therefore, it has become imperative for retailers to implement one payment platform for all transactions to provide the payment options customers prefer. It also makes it easier to store staff to confirm payment when a customer arrives to pick up an order, handle returns, or add items to the purchase.

Beyond creating optimal payment experiences, an omnichannel payment platform saves time with end-of-day reporting and simplifies vendor management and troubleshooting if issues arise.

Help Your Clients Capitalize on the Click-and-Collect Trend

Although COVID-19 accelerated the click-and-collect trend, all signs point to it continuing beyond the pandemic. Retailers who adapt their processes to get it right can gain an edge over their competitors who may still be struggling with legacy systems or a solution that they cobbled together quickly to meet demand.

Your solutions and industry expertise can show your clients how to implement technology to manage click and collect profitably and accurately. Build your business by helping your retail clients build their click-and-collect revenue stream.