Fashion click-and-collect to grow, but retailers will favour subscriptions says Verdict

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 30, 2016

Click-and-collect will grow fast in the UK until 2021, outpacing wider growth in online retail, and clothing and footwear will lead the charge. It currently accounts for more than half of all click-and-collect orders, according to Verdict Retail.

Verdict said collection in-store will grow across all categories but the expansion will be driven by clothing and footwear, which is forecast to grow 85% over the next five years.

But the research group also said that click-and-collect is losing its appeal for retailers as it adds on extra costs and does not generate enough in additional in-store purchases.

Nearly 20% of customers collecting their online orders in-store make an additional purchase when they get there, however the average spend on such additional purchases is just £13, down 38% compared to 2013.

While increasingly time-poor consumers in Britain - and in other markets such as the US - seek to minimise time spent shopping, growth rates will slow as the market matures, Verdict believes. It said that over the next five years, the development of the click-and-collect channel will come primarily from consumer frequency rather than retailer adoption.

Instead retailers will focus on alternative improvements to fulfilment, with home delivery subscription services like those from pureplay e-tailers Amazon, Asos and Boohoo, making the biggest impact. Such subscriptions, where consumers pay for delivery for a year upfront and no further delivery charges for the duration of the subscription, encourage retailer loyalty and repeat purchases.

Other online players are also expected to follow suit and Verdict said even some multichannel operators, such as department stores, are likely to research how they may benefit from adopting delivery subscriptions. This month, New Look became the first multichannel player to launch a delivery subscription service.

Other fulfilment services like lockers and collection from local stores could also slow click-and-collect’s growth. Despite their relatively low take-up at present, they are expected to grow by 117% between 2016 and 2021.