The lockdown has pushed consumers to increasingly switch to online shopping. A heavy blow for stationary retail. Many shops are still struggling with high requirements due to the pandemic. Click & Collect is gaining importance. With this concept, shopkeepers are able to serve customers in a Corona-compliant manner during these difficult times. We give you 5 tips on how to set up this service correctly in order to successfully dovetail your online and offline business.
Click & Collect: Meaning and Definition
Before we give you tips on how to set up Click & Collect for your business, let’s first explain what the term means. Click and Collect is the ability for the customer to pre-order and reserve products online or over the phone, and then collect them from a specified off-site location, such as your store. For this service, which combines online and offline business, other names have also become common, such as
- On-site pick-up,
- Online pickup order,
- Self-pickup,
- order and pick up,
- In-store pickup
After the order has been placed, the customer receives an order confirmation – usually by e-mail – with a time window in which the order is ready for collection. There should be at least 4 hours between order and collection to avoid fun shopping. The ordered products must then be picked by the retailer and made available in the store for collection. For large orders, a relatively high amount of work can therefore arise due to the Click & Collect offer.
Ideally, the order is handed over to the customer in such a way that the consumer stays in front of your store and does not have to enter the store. Payment is made online in advance, i.e. contactless when the order is placed or when you pick it up in your shop. As a rule, no pick-up fee is charged for this service.
Advantages of Click & Collect
Click & Collect has a number of advantages for merchants. Here is a brief overview:
- The customer base can be expanded to include more online-savvy customers.
- Costs are saved because shipping no longer has to be paid.
- There are no returns because the customer can view the product when it is picked up and return it on-site if they do not like it.
- Additional on-site services are possible, such as trying on clothes or testing technical equipment.
Disadvantages of Click & Collect
However, the offer of the “Click and Collect” service also has some disadvantages.
- There is no counseling option.
- More staff is usually needed when Click & Collect attracts more customers than expected.
- In order for the customer to be able to pick up his goods as quickly as possible, internal processes may have to be changed.
- You have to worry about storing the products ready for collection.
5 tips for a successful start with Click & Collect
When customers use Click & Collect, they want to get an item faster and when they want it. So you have to meet certain expectations. Below we give you 5 tips on how to set up Click & Collect for your business so that the customer is satisfied with your service.
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Allocate personal time slot
In order to avoid all customers coming by at the same time to pick up their orders, as a retailer, they allocate personal time slots to the customers. That’s an incentive for those who don’t want to wait in long queues – especially at a time when social distancing rules are in place.
It’s even easier if you integrate a Click & Collect system into your webshop. You can then set the Click & Collect opening hours, adapt the time slots to the available capacity, set the time slot duration (e.g. 30 or 60 minutes) and set the minimum lead time (in this case 4 hours). Start your webshop with the click & collect function quickly and easily with CCV Shop.
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Organize pickup
Think in advance about what information you need from the customer if he wants to pick up his package. File the items you have ordered so that you can easily find them. Sort them by order number or last name, for example. Also, keep an eye on which jobs have already been paid for and which have not. It is important that you avoid delays.
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Promote contactless payments
Try to let the customer pay in advance as often as possible. Not only is this safer, but it also saves you the administrative hassle of picking it up. If the payment in advance or afterwards does not work, the customer can pay at the pick-up location. Try to avoid touching as much as possible and encourage contactless payments. In this case, get a modern card reader that accepts all common payment methods. Discover our mobile card readers now.
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Create a clear order confirmation
Make sure the order confirmation includes all relevant information for a smooth order pickup. In particular, the agreed time window is essential here and should be clearly stated on the order confirmation.
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Do not pack ordered items until you pick them up
Make sure the items you ordered are ready for pickup but don’t pack them yet. This allows the consumer to see whether the order is complete and correct. If space allows, you can also set up a drive-through for your Click & Collect service. The customer then stays in the car and an employee places the ordered products in the trunk.
Advertise Click & Collect
One final tip for setting up Click & Collect for your store: let your customers know you’re open. Share on social media that the Click & Collect option applies to your store. Make your Facebook and Instagram account your store’s showroom and let your customers know what products they can buy from you online and pick up in-store. Give your orders a personal touch, for example by including a nice thank you card or a small giveaway. This will ensure that your customer goes home with a smile, you have increased their customer satisfaction and they will most likely order from you again. I wish you success!
