Table of contents
Disclaimer: Nothing in this article should be construed as legal, financial or tax advice. Please always consult a knowledgeable professional advisor.
How does Click and Collect work?
Whether you are a new business that is just getting started or an established company looking to add to your delivery options, Click and Collect is a great way to introduce an easy-to-use ordering option for you and your customers. This guide answers the questions, “What is Click and Collect?” and “How does Click and Collect work?”, and explains how to easily set it up for your business.
Click and Collect has been gaining popularity in recent years. Research by Clix Technologies shows that 69% of UK consumers use this method of shopping as it’s convenient and allows them to get their items quicker, and it’s a way to save money on home delivery charges.
So, what do you need to know about how Click and Collect works, how can it help your business and how do you set it up?
What is Click and Collect?
Essentially, Click and Collect is a way of trading that allows consumers to ‘click’ and buy online, then ‘collect’ at a store, by picking up their items, rather than having them delivered.
While online shopping is becoming the norm for most consumers in the UK, there are still many that enjoy an in-store experience. In fact, a First Insight report on consumer spending found that shoppers in-store are likely to spend more than those online. It can be argued that a lot of this is down to the power of in-person customer service, which can help you increase your Average Order Value (AOV). And with contactless payment limits now at £100, it’s never been quicker to make an in-person purchase. Essentially, Click and Collect can be thought of as a compromise between the ease of ecommerce and the personal touch of brick and mortar shopping.
Click and Collect also bridges the gap between the digital and in-person shopping experience. Research by Barclays Corporate Banking indicates that having both an online and physical presence can help build trust with potential customers. Almost a quarter of respondents said they are hesitant when buying from online-only brands, so having your store as the collection point for Click and Collect orders will help customers feel more confident in their purchase.
How does Click and Collect work?
The first step to using Click and Collect is to have an online store for customers to shop in. If you don’t have one of these already, Square Online is an easy and effective way to set one up. Customers can then browse your online store, adding items to their virtual basket as they shop.
Once at the checkout, businesses offering Click and Collect will give the option to select either Home Delivery or Click and Collect. With Click and Collect being chosen, customers can select a relevant local store to collect from and a time and date for when to collect. The customer then processes their payment as usual but is also sent a form of communication about how to collect their order- often a code or a specific location at the store, usually via email, to have for their pick up. In some cases further proof of purchase might also be required such as ID or payment method.The order is then processed by the business as usual but instead of being shipped to a delivery address, it is moved to the required collection point in time for the arranged time and or date.
Why should you consider Click and Collect?
Aside from the potential benefit of increased revenue , there are many benefits of adopting Click and Collect for your business and your customers.
It doesn’t take a lot of resources to run Click and Collect as a delivery option, so for small businesses with limited staff numbers it can be ideal.
When it comes to customers themselves, using Click and Collect can help reinforce a sense of community on local high streets, encouraging spending with small businesses, which is beneficial for all involved. Being able to use Click and Collect when shopping also allows customers to choose when to pick things up, based on their timings and needs. It can also lead to quicker fulfilment of orders due to any issues that might affect home delivery being completely negated.
Being able to offer Click and Collect is also something that is really helpful, when delivery slots can be booked up. Customers are increasingly choosing Click and Collect over home delivery, and this service is outperforming the overall online market: it’s expected to grow by over 50% between 2020 and 2025.
Click and Collect can also save customers money, meaning they have more to spend with you. Research by Clix Technologies found that saving money is one of the main attractions of Click and Collect: 29% of respondents use this shopping method to avoid shipping fees.
Is Click and Collect right for your business?
There are some initial considerations to be made before deciding to set up Click and Collect and as with most new business infrastructures it may come with cost implications. Although fairly limited here, there are still things like stock purchasing and advertising and promotion costs to consider when you are up and running. Plus, for businesses that don’t hold a lot of stock in store premises or have multiple locations, you may have to factor in the cost of covering stock movement, especially to make it an attractive delivery option for customers.
There may also be the need to look into increasing premises sizes or options. If your business is making a major pivot to focusing on online trading, once the majority of your revenue is coming from this source, finding new stock holding premises and/or multiple pick up locations will definitely be worth considering too.
When it comes to what to sell and which businesses can adapt best to introducing a Click and Collect model, the food industry is a good place to start. Most restaurants, groceries, food and drinks shops can easily convert to offering Click and Collect with their existing Online Store. You can accept Click and Collect orders directly through your own website, which means you can control your margins and build stronger relationships with your customers. You can also accept orders through food delivery apps, and this can help you reach a wider audience if you know how to boost your rankings.
Fashion and home goods stores are also ideal for adopting a Click and Collect shopping method too. Our Future of Commerce report highlights the importance of offering customers a personalised digital shopping experience. Allowing customers to choose how they receive their order is a great place to start.
But it doesn’t mean that if you operate in other sectors you can’t set up and benefit from Click and Collect services. Sometimes it can be worth considering Click and Collect for even the most unlikely sectors, from car dealerships to public libraries.
How do you set up Click and Collect?
To get started with our Click and Collect service, or Curbside Pickup, you need to be a Square Online user – you can quickly set up a free Online Store here. Then it is as simple as accessing your account settings and selecting to turn on Curbside Pickup. This will allow you to determine the settings you want for your store location or locations if you have multiple. These store details, including opening times, are all pulled in automatically.
As a default, turning on Pickup will set the Pickup Hours as based on your business hours. However you can adjust these, allowing you to control the time that collections are made. This is also editable by day and time period, so you can give yourself the time necessary to get stock in or to avoid busy periods. You can also give customers the ability to schedule their own pickup times, based on when best suits them.
With most food businesses, especially restaurants and takeaways, you will also need to factor in preparation time. This can be done by setting a Prep time for your orders, which can be different on an item by item basis, perfect for a busy kitchen.
Customers will then be able to choose Click and Collect as a delivery option on your Online Store. During checkout, they can choose the location to collect from, their pickup date and time, all based on all the settings you have selected.
Once an order has been made up and is available for collection you can mark it as Ready in the Square Online Store. This sends an email to the customer and there is also the option for additional text message notifications, which also means the customer can reply to you letting you know when they are with you to pick up. From there it is as simple as updating the order status to Complete to close the transaction.
There is a step-by-step support page and more detailed step-by-step guide to turning on your Square Curbside Pickup here.
Introducing Click and Collect into your business is a great way to offer customers a greener, cheaper alternative to home delivery that allows for a more personal touch and helps encourage spending with local businesses.
