Should my Business Offer Click and Collect?

Covid-19 pandemic has transformed how we shop, with more people than ever buying goods online. In fact, in August 2020, mid-pandemic, Australia hit a record high for online shopping. With lockdowns and social distancing, shopping in-store fell to the wayside in favour of online shopping with home delivery or click and collect options.

While in pre-Covid times, click and collect was mainly offered by large retailers and supermarkets, it’s now spread to being offered by small and medium businesses too. In this article, we’ll take you through what click and collect involves and discuss the benefits it could offer you and your customers.

What is click and collect?

Click and collect, which can also be called in-store pickup, involves customers picking up their online order from a shop front instead of having their goods delivered. In practice, this means customers will head to a business’ ecommerce store, select the products they want to buy, then choose click and collect at checkout. They’ll receive notice, usually via email, when their shopping is ready for collection and then they’ll head to the brick-and-mortar shop themselves to collect it.

How does click and collect work?

Click and collect may look a little different depending on the retailer, but it typically involves the steps outlined below:

• A customer places an order online, or occasionally by phone, and chooses their preferences as to where and when they would like to collect it. E.g. at their most local store and at a time that suits them.  

• Next, the business will prepare the order.

• When the order is completed, the customer will receive notification that they can now come and collect it, along with instructions about how they should do so, i.e. if there is a special desk for collection, if they are allowed to enter the store etc.

• The customer collects their order and returns home a happy bunny.

Click and collect leads to happy customers

Even with pandemic restrictions easing up, click and collect has remained a popular shopping method for Australians. And this isn’t without reason. Below are some of the biggest factors motivating customers to do their shopping with click and collect:

• Lower cost - While big retailers can take the brunt of delivery costs themselves, smaller businesses tend to pass them off to customers. This makes shopping online more expensive from a customer perspective. However, with click and collect, they can enjoy all the convenience of online shopping, while avoiding hefty delivery costs.

• Fast and convenient - When same-day or next-day delivery isn’t on the table - as it typically isn’t with small businesses - the next best thing, from a time-saving perspective, is order collection by customers. This is because it eliminates time spent out on delivery. It also means customers don’t have to waste their day waiting at home for their delivery. They can take matters into their own hands and collect, meaning they know the precise time they’ll receive their order.

Click and collect for small businesses: benefits

• Happy customers - with lower costs and added convenience, offering click-and-collect options as a small business can lead to better customer satisfaction.

• Reduces costs - With click and collect, businesses can save on delivery costs.

• Greater control over shopping experience - With delivery, there is often a third-party delivery service involved. This means businesses don’t have full control over customer shopping experiences, and if your delivery service lets you down, this reflects badly on you. With click and collect, you remain in full control of how the customer perceives your business.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.