Customers click but don’t collect £228m of goods per year
Click and collect services have been touted as a potential way of reviving ailing high streets, but customers are failing to collect £228m of ordered goods per year, new research has found.
One in seven shoppers surveyed admitted to not collecting items they had ordered online, according to research by Barclaycard, which also found that 71 per cent of UK adults now use the delivery service.
Almost one in three (30 per cent) of those who had failed to pick up their orders said the hassle of the click and collect process was to blame.
Long waiting times and poorly-staffed collection points were also common complaints, with each given as the reason for not collecting an order by a quarter of those surveyed.
Despite these customer grievances, the research found that well-run click and collect services do benefit the high street, with 89 per cent of retailers surveyed saying that offering the service had led to increased footfall over the past two years.
Almost all retailers (97 per cent) had benefited from additional revenue as a result of offering click and collect.
Kirsty Morris, a director at Barclaycard payment solutions, said that the service is a “win-win for both retailers and consumers.”
“Brands have the opportunity to not only increase the number of shoppers through their doors but also to reduce costs and returns, while generating revenue from ‘Click & Collectors’ purchasing additional items in-store.”
Main image credit: Getty