Can Click and Collect save UK department stores?

By Mark Adams, GM EMEA, BigCommerce

Department stores were once viewed as ‘anchors’ on the high street and shopping centres. Often located next to the multi-story car park, consumers would walk through them to access the high street, browsing the different sections as they walked through. 

Department stores were popular because they were a ‘go to’ place for big events, like weddings, and were unrivalled in customer service. Stores also began rewarding customer loyalty with exclusive credit via store reward cards. 

Little by little, this has eroded over time. The number of shoppers heading to UK high streets, retail parks and shopping centres has fallen by 10% in the last seven years, according to the BRC and Springboard. This year both House of Fraser and Debenhams have announced the closure of more than 20 stores each. 

Yet with a department store conveniently located on almost every high street, brands are now partnering with them to enable Click and Collect services to help drive footfall and boost sales. Is this the way forward to encourage in-store purchasing, thus potentially saving the department store? 

Appetite for Click and Collect 

The demand for Click and Collect has grown significantly in recent years. According to Barclaycard, a third of retailers who offer this service have seen physical store sales increase. Shoppers have been drawn in by the convenience on offer, with 68% now choosing to pick up online orders in-store to avoid missing deliveries. Whilst an additional 85% of customers admit they buy additional items in-store when using Click and Collect.

John Lewis was one of the first stores to launch a service at scale in the UK. It recently announced a partnership with fashion retailer Boden to allow customers to use its Click and Collect service and collect online orders from 30 selected Waitrose stores. 

Launching its service in 2008, John Lewis says that orders using the service have increased more than 50% over the last five years, and adds that 57% of all online orders are now delivered through Click and Collect.

It is clear consumers want more retailers to pair up to allow the collection of parcels from convenient locations. Several more retailers have quickly jumped onboard this trend. For instance, Amazon now enables its customers to collect packages from Next stores. 

Flexible trading hours

Department stores are an attractive option to partner with for Click and Collect services because of the flexibility with trading hours which enable consumers to make collections at their convenience. 

Post Office branches and depots are typically shut outside of working hours, stay open until midday on a Saturday and are closed on Sunday. Whereas department stores are open seven days a week. Giving customers a two week returns window may seem like a long time but with Post Offices shut outside of working hours, this proves difficult. 

Consumers can pick up their deliveries more flexibly from a department store because they are open seven days a week and far later than your standard Post Office. Also, because of their convenient location, consumers can pop in to a department store on their lunch break or after work to pick up a parcel. 

When collecting an item from store, this allows customers to try out the item before they take it home. If the item arrives damaged, the customer can ask for a repeat order or return there and then. A retailer will typically hold an order for up to 10 days. If the order is not collected within the 10 days, the retailer will often cancel the order and issue a refund to the original payment method.

The true value of the department store

Click and Collect is connecting the omnichannel experience for consumers by joining up the online and the physical. The UK market is expected to grow to almost £10 billion by the year 2023 presenting plenty of opportunities for retailers. 

Consumers use these services so they don’t miss a delivery and can collect their parcel from a convenient location. For retailers, partnering with department stores to use their Click and Collect services means they can save money because deliveries are less costly and complicated if their customers are going to one shop. It also means retailers reduce their carbon footprint by having fewer home deliveries. A win-win situation all round.