In-store collection doesn’t deliver

Consumers increasingly shop via click and collect, a blended retailer format that combines online ordering and collecting goods at a pick-up point. A recent study*  investigates how 3 different click and collect formats (in-store pickup, near store pick-up, stand alone location) impact consumer adoption and spending. Stand alone formats perform best in terms of the numbers of households adopting the format and their total spend at the retailer.
In contrast, retailers  face losses through in-store pickups especially for their most loyal shoppers. High-share shopper spend on average € 34 less per month after they adopt the in-store pickup format (see figure). They replace multiple brick and mortar trips by fewer click and collect orders which also contain fewer impulse purchases.

Interestingly, retailers with a strong physical store network reap higher rewards from click and collect, an indication that the presence of “old-fashioned” stores reduces the perceived risk of online shopping.

* by Professors Katrijn Gielens, Inge Geyskens & Els Gijsbrechts