4 Ways To Optimize Your Click And Collect Experience For Shoppers

Click and collect is an increasingly popular delivery option for online shoppers, as it combines the convenience of eCommerce with the immediacy of bricks and mortar retail.

However, as more outlets adopt this as a means of getting goods to customers, there are some wrinkles in the process which need to be understood and ironed out. With that in mind, here are just some of the main optimization options that can enhance your click and collect service and keep consumers content.

Overcome Inventory Management Issues

There is nothing more frustrating than to reserve an item online for in-store pickup, only to arrive to find that it is either not in stock or has been sold to another customer in the interim. This could sour your relationship with valued shoppers and send them into the arms of a rival brand.

When it comes to creating an in-store pickup experience that makes BOPIS (buy online, pickup in store) actually satisfying as well as functional, effective inventory management needs to be at the top of the agenda. Using modern software solutions you can provide real time updates on stock levels, and ensure that all customers and staff are in the loop. This also means you can order more of a popular product when stocks run low, as well as avoiding the likelihood of overselling or overstocking.

Make It Free

If possible, the in-store collection option should be free of charge, giving it the edge over home delivery and meaning that it will automatically be more attractive to prospective customers when they click through to the checkout.

While the number of retailers charging for click and collect is falling, it is worth looking at the broader value that it can bring to the table if you want to justify removing any fees altogether. Getting customers through the door by letting them pick up online orders will also put them in range of your bricks and mortar promotional offers, allowing you to upsell other items and expand upon their original order, for example.

Establish A Specific Click And Collect Kiosk

If your store is large enough, it makes sense to set up an area within it that is a dedicated zone to which customers arriving to receive a click and collect order can go to be dealt with.

Furthermore you should use adequate signage to make this click and collect kiosk visible and conspicuous, so that newcomers to the store who may only have ordered online before know exactly where they need to go.

Add More Collection Locations

Click and collect is a delivery service that any eCommerce business can offer, even if it does not have its own stores from which to fulfil orders in person.

This is thanks to the increased availability of third party locker solutions in public places which act as a hub for orders sent to a specific area. You can also leverage pickup points housed within other retail locations to your advantage for this purpose.

As you can see, there is no excuse to let your click and collect experience stagnate, so test drive these tips yourself and see which ones work best for your business.