Online shoppers are increasingly using click and collect services, with a quarter of those surveyed by YouGov saying that they will use the system even more next year. This year however there have been real problems in getting the goods to the customer.
According to a survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of JDA / Centiro, 41% of online shoppers used a click and collect service over Christmas 2015, up 2% from the year before. 24% of those who used it said that they would use the service more often this year than before. 56% said that they use the service to avoid delivery charges.
As with almost all new services, the more a system is used, the more fault that is found with it. 31% of customers complained that there was no dedicated place in shops for the click and collect service. The same proportion (31%) found that they had difficulty finding the correct member of staff to get their items. 24% found that staff had difficulty locating their parcel or could not locate the item at all.
A statement from JDA said, “33% of online Christmas shoppers stating they had experienced issues with their purchases (an increase from 31% the previous year). Of those shoppers that had encountered any of the problems listed, 48% had suffered from late deliveries or never received their goods; a further 48% had suffered from missed deliveries including when they were at home. Unsurprisingly, more than three-quarters (77%) of Brits online said they would be likely to switch to shopping with an alternative retailer next Christmas as a result of a poor online Christmas shopping experience.” This loss of customers is fairly typical of other studies into online shopping habits, which generally say that a company has at most, two tries to get it right before losing a customer due to a poor shopping experience at any time of the year.
Jason Shorrock, VP of retail strategy at JDA said of the findings, “Shoppers are showing a growing preference for ‘Click & Collect’ as it offers them the convenience they crave and it is vital that retailers get it right. However, without the effective management of staff, stores and inventory, retailers risk damaging customer relationships.”
