The global surge in Click and Collect
Click and Collect is taking the world by storm, yet it’s not a new phenomenon by any means. It has been around for years, and well established in the United Kingdom, United States, Asia and Europe. Growth in usage has been steady, however thanks largely to a worldwide pandemic, it has become a necessary and convenient service offering by retailers for their customers. Achieving massive growth in the last 12 months.
In 2017, the Click and Collect Retail Consumer Preference Study revealed that nearly one third of American shoppers made an online purchase which they then picked up using Click and Collect from their local store during the 2016 holiday season. However in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Click and Collect pick-ups more than doubled across the United States. This surge in usage isn’t expected to be some flash in the pan, with rates in the States likely to sustain double-digit growth through to 2024.
Across the world social distancing restrictions have changed our shopping behaviours over the past year and a half, limiting physical contact in-store and increasing the need for contactless shopping. Those stores who weren’t set up with Click and Collect prior to the advent of COVID-19 have had to get on board, and with urgency.
Internationally, Business Insider identified three main reasons for the dramatic increase in Click and Collect sales. They are an increase in mid-sized retailers offering Click and Collect options, expanded adoption largely thanks to a channel once seen as costly and complex to implement, evolving too affordable and necessary. And finally, the surge in popularity has moved beyond the grocery sector, with a wide range of retailers now offering a 24/7 Click and Collect service.
In 2021, consumer behaviour has adapted and Click and Collect has moved from a need to a convenient personal choice, offering significant benefits to both retailers and their customers.
How Click and Collect works
In New Zealand and abroad, retailers of all sizes are implementing some form of Click and Collect, even if it isn’t a fully automated, 24/7 offering yet. For the leading retailers offering an automated, 24/7 Click and Collect service, customers can make a purchase online and choose a convenient time to pick up that purchase at their local store, post-office, purpose-built locker or even a different retailer’s store, anytime, seven days a week.
Click and Collect can be used for not only online purchases, but also the likes of equipment rentals, package deliveries and safe storage.
The Amazon Hub and Locker programmes are a great example of the innovative use of Click and Collect. Amazon Hubs are set up in apartment buildings for Amazon packages to be delivered to, while Amazon Lockers are held at third party locations. When purchasing, a customer just adds their nominated locker or hub location as a delivery option, as they would a residential address. Then they pickup their purchases using a fully automated service, with key codes sent to their phones to open their lockers.
Within New Zealand, GDM Retail Systems is leading the way, with a Click and Collect locker system specifically developed for New Zealand and Australian retailers. The brilliance of GDM’s innovative system is that it can be successfully rolled out nationwide with New Zealand budgets and logistic perspectives accounted for. More on that later, for now let’s consider the advantages of Click and Collect for retailers and their customers.
The advantages of Click and Collect
To the customer
- Quick and convenient 24/7 pick up
- Secure package storage
- No queues!
- Limited instore contact
- No courier or delivery fees
Click and Collect is omnichannel retailing at its best. It is a quick and convenient service for customers, allowing them the flexibility to choose when and where they pick up their online purchases. Unlike most delivery services, there are no additional costs to the customer plus there is the added security of knowing packages are not being left at the front door.
Click and Collect also allows a frictionless instore touch point. Customers can pick up their purchases without interacting or being in contact with anyone else if they choose to. It can also help remove customer experience destroyers like long lines, increased wait times and order inaccuracies.
Benefits to retailers
To the retailer
- Differentiates and defends against online focused retailers
- More sustainable
- Cost effective
- Greater control over purchasing experience
- Monetise retail footprint
Brick and Mortar retailers struggle to compete with online shopping as inefficient delivery options can take too much time and instore resourcing of staff. Click and Collect provides a viable omnichannel opportunity to differentiate and defend against online retailers.
Click and Collect is cost effective and more sustainable, with fewer overhead costs and resourcing required in comparison to delivery services. Plus fewer trucks on the road reduce our carbon emissions – something we feel hugely passionate about at GDM Retail Systems as we strive to achieve sustainable practices across all aspects of our business.
Click and Collect also allows retailers to have greater control over the purchasing experience, as they are less reliant on third party delivery companies.
Retailers can also monetise an existing retail footprint by fulfilling online orders instore. If retailers are struggling to fill labour gaps, Click and Collect can save on costs by reassigning current employees to other tasks.
GDM Retail Systems is the market leader – Click and Collect
Enhance your customers’ experience by providing your shoppers with the 24/7 convenience of collecting their purchases anytime with GDM’s Click and Collect system.
GDM’s Click and Collect is the first hardware and software system fully developed within and for New Zealand and Australian retailers and 24/7 locker service providers. It is also the best value Click and Collect system on the market today, with pricing options to meet your budget and ensure a quicker return on investment.
GDM’s system provides shopper convenience with a complete omnichannel service between online purchasing and 24/7 pick-up. It is fully automated and secure, sending out a locker access code to the customer.
GDM Click and Collect is more than just an automated 24/7 locker pick up system:
- Customers can do 24/7 product returns using the GDM’s Click and Collect. They can receive a locker code and return a product at a time which suits them.
- Stores can receive courier or other deliveries 24/7. Couriers again receive the code, and can drop off parcels securely, any time of day.
- Single or multiple lockers, even a whole cabinet can be reserved for special customers or as a custom service to specific requests.
- The GDM Click and Collect system comes with the cloud based GDM Click and Collect App. This App provides real time reporting on store and locker usage.
So what makes GDM’s Click and Collect stand out?
GDM Click and Collect
- Convenient fully automated system
- Adaptable to your store pick up and receipt processes
- Real time usage data
- Option of indoor or outdoor cabinets
- Customisable to your store branding and space
- High quality, sustainable components
- Remote servicing from the GDM Technical Team
- Excellent Return on Investment!
GDM’s Click and Collect has been developed to meet retailers’ needs. Is a modular plug and play system, however it can be tailored to specifically suit your product and space requirements. Customised graphics and cabinetry surround can be incorporated to match your brand and marketing requirements. A variety of locker compartment sizes are also available. GDM offer the option to backend the GDM Click and Collect software into existing retail store software by developing a customised API.
GDM’s system is also adaptable. The simple, modular cabinet design allows each cabinet to simply plug into the main controller cabinet for easy installation and the future addition of further lockers.
A major plus is that GDM’s Click and Collect gives you real time usage data reporting across a network of stores or right down to store and cabinet level, with use of the GDM Click and Collect Management App. The GDM Technical Team are also on hand for remote servicing, software upgrades and store staff assistance.
At GDM, sustainability is at forefront of our minds when we manufacture our products, and GDM Click and Collect is no exception. The high-quality components and hardware ensure a long lifetime usage to maximise return on investment, no matter whether the cabinets are installed indoors or outdoors.
Now is the time!
Get ahead of the game, differentiate your service offering and increase your market share by installing GDM’s fully automated Click and Collect system. If overseas trends are anything to go by, Click and Collect will continue to grow and become an essential part of a retailer’s omnichannel offering to shoppers in New Zealand and Australia. Become a market leader, get in touch with GDM Retail Systems to discover the best solution for your store and customers.