Click and collect is becoming a standard option for online shoppers. The majority (54 percent) of Europe’s 1,000 largest online retailers offer pickup, increasing their appeal to shoppers.
This is according to the British industry publication Internet Retailing, based on the 360° report RetailX Europe Top1000. This report identifies a thousand e-commerce and multi-channel retailers that demonstrate strong sales performance and expert responsiveness to customer preferences. There is no single leader on the list; instead, retailers are categorized into groups. The leading group includes eleven names: Argos, Asics, bol, Carrefour, Decathlon, Douglas, H&M, Hugo Boss, Ikea, Sainsbury’s and Zalando.
Click and collect
RetailX, an online retail spin-off, analyzed how a thousand listed retailers offer flexible pickup and return services that align with customer demand. More than half (54 percent) of retailers offer customers the option to pick up their order online. The service is most often available when selling to the UK (58 per cent) and Luxembourg (56 per cent), while fewer retailers offer it when selling to Liechtenstein (6 per cent) or Malta (17 per cent).
Pickup by product category
RetailX also explored the availability of pick-up options in different product categories. The findings show that click and collect is most common for ordering books (68 percent), personal care (62 percent) and groceries (58 percent). In contrast, availability for fashion orders remains below half (49 percent).
Click and collect are the most common for books.
A total of 13 percent of the 1,000 retailers offer pick-up via parcel boxes, which is less than a quarter of all click and collect companies. This option is more common when selling to Poland (31 percent), where automatic parcel machines have quickly become popular, and Romania (20 percent). Large couriers such as DHL and GLS have been investing in the expansion of shipments for years.
Same day collection
According to data from RetailX, 9 percent of Europe’s 1,000 largest retailers offer same-day collection. This express service is most often available at retailers selling to Sweden (12 percent) and Romania (11 percent).