The British high street is set for a boost this Christmas with shoppers poised to make three additional shopping trips each to collect parcels bought through click-and-collect services.
As a result, smaller neighbourhood high streets such as Purley and Tufnell Park, and market towns such as Marlborough and Totnes, stand to receive a sales lift of around £1.3m each during the Christmas shopping period.
Spontaneous spend
New research by eBay and retail analysts Conlumino anticipates the average click-and-collect high street visit will drive £27 in spontaneous spending back into bricks and mortar retail units this Christmas. Three-quarters of shoppers will buy additional goods and services on impulse while out collecting parcels.
Nationwide, the popularity of click-and-collect means shoppers will create £1.15bn of spontaneous spend during Christmas 2014 parcel collection trips. Increased opportunities for browsing, impulse buying and snacking will all play a role in this increased spend.
During last year’s Christmas shopping season, 25% of shoppers stocked up on additional Christmas goods from the same store, while one in four purchased from a neighbouring shop while out collecting parcels. Refuelling on drinks and snacks accounted for one in five shoppers’ additional spend and 10% of consumers stopped to enjoy a meal while on their collection trip.
Local impact
Susan Connolly runs four Spar stores on local high streets across Wiltshire. She has seen a marked increase in incremental sales after introducing parcel collection services last year. “Customers are pleasantly surprised that we offer this new kind of service; it’s much more convenient than waiting at home for a large parcel,” she said. “It’s worthwhile for us too; in our Pewsy store, footfall has risen 16% in the past year and we are benefiting from the additional spend from new customers. Shoppers will come in to pick up a package but also leave with a chocolate bar or newspaper.”
The eBay/Conlumino report also puts a value of £3bn on the click-and-collect category this Christmas, compared to £2.1bn in 2013. The 40% growth suggests that click-and-collect has entered the shopping mainstream, giving many of the country’s struggling high streets a share of e-commerce success and thousands of online retailers a physical presence for the first time.
Collaborating, not competing
eBay’s click-and-collect partnership with Argos has connected 65,000 online sellers to high street customers. My1stWish, an online clothing business that sells with eBay, has been on board since the collaboration launched in September 2013. Click-and-collect now accounts for roughly 10% of the company’s orders.
“It has given customers another trusted delivery option,” said Tayyab Akhlaq, managing director at My1stWish. “We’ve seen a good pick up, with shoes being one of the most popular items bought through the service. Most of our click-and-collect orders come in on a Monday or Tuesday, as customers want to be able to pick them up from a local Argos, safe in the knowledge they’ll get them before the weekend.”
Tanya Lawler, vice president of eBay in the UK, said: “We’ve all heard that the Indian summer has been devastating for the high street. As retailers look for Christmas to help them recover, click-and-collect presents a huge opportunity as shoppers combine clicks with bricks like never before.
“Our research shows that additional trips made by shoppers to collect goods bought online will also bring spontaneous spend. This could make a big difference to high streets up and down the country and drive footfall into stores.
“We believe in collaborating, not competing with the high street. Our click-and-collect offering with Argos is creating a presence for smaller e-commerce businesses. We’ve seen sellers and shoppers really embrace click-and-collect, but this is the first time we’ve quantified the wider benefits to retail.”
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