Retail agency Visual Thinking has run a small survey that suggests that click and collect is an important facility for retailers but it needs to be fine tuned to maximise the financial potential of the product.

Where 89% of the 176 mothers surveyed had used a click and collect service, many of them only go into a store to collect their goods and then rush out. 67% bought only the goods they’d reserved online in the shop. This convenience is one of the draws of the service, but Visual Thinking point out that in enabling them to be in, through and out in super quick time there are fewer opportunities to encourage cross selling, upselling or impulse buys. This is something that retailers need to think about – how to maximise the financial potential of the visit to the retail outlet.

Almost half of mothers surveyed went for the click and collect service to save money on delivery. This reflects other small scale surveys that have found similar results.

Volumes of items purchased have increased as well. A third of shoppers said that they had used a click and collect service for up to a quarter of their Christmas shopping, up from 14% the year before. This is a sign that the popularity of the service is improving.

Karl McKeever, founder and managing director of Visual Thinking, said: “Click and Collect offers a convenient and cost-effective option for busy mums who want to treat their family at Christmas.

“For retailers this can lead to increased sales but it may also result in missed opportunities, for example, 67% of mums who visited a store to pick up a Click and Collect order left without buying anything else. This means retailers must have a laser focus on finding ways to engage customers entering stores on such a shopping mission, without compromising the customers’ need for a fast and convenient instore experience.”

Survey can be seen via this link