The value of click and collect experiences

Creating great in-store experiences is one of the best things a brand can do to connect with customers. When customers step into a brick-and-mortar location, they experience the atmosphere and ambiance, the service provided by the employees there, the cleanliness of the store, how frictionless the experience is, the stories the brand is telling, and whether they can get connected to the products and services they're looking for.

In fact, 80% of customers see the experience a company provides as being just as important as its products and services, and 80% are more likely to make a purchase when offered a personalized experience.

Part of that great in-store experience, or experience with a brand in general, includes having the options to make your experience into what you want it to be.

One of those options that you can offer to your customers is click and collect, which has gained in popularity as an easy, low-interaction way for customers to purchase items online and pick them up at the store. If you haven't yet created click and collect options for your customers, here's how to get started and why customers are now expecting it.

How click and collect helps create great experiences

Click and collect experiences have been around long before the pandemic, yet these experiences allowed many retailers to continue to serve their customers in low- or no-touch ways during the pandemic. Even though brick-and-mortar locations have reopened, many customers are still opting for click and collect. Customers who don't want to spend time shopping in a store, or who don't want to pay shipping fees, can choose what they want to buy, order it from their home or on-the-go through an app, and take home their purchases that same day.

Click and collect options are popular, and will only continue to grow. Customers say the reason that they choose click and collect is because it's cheaper than delivery, faster than delivery, and faster than shopping in the store. Sales made through click and collect purchases are expected to hit $140.96 billion by 2024 with over 160 million users, and click and collect purchases will continue to grow at a rate of 15% annually.

Many retailers are offering their customers the option of how to pick up their items once they get to the store, too. Some offer curbside delivery, where an associate brings the items out to the customer's car. Some have a shelf where customers can walk in, grab their items, and leave. Others have a pick-up counter, where customers can pay in person. Still others are experimenting with automated pick-up systems, where customers can go to a collection site, scan a QR code, and a robot will collect their items.

Ultimately, click and collect is all about giving customers the option to shop how they want, when they want.

How to create your click and collect

If you're ready to roll out click and collect experiences for your customers, here's an overview of how to get started.
Sync Your Website and Inventory: Start by making sure that your website and/or mobile app is connected to your in-store inventory system, and that it shows products that can be found in your brick-and-mortar. Remember that click and collect isn't click and ship from the warehouse. You're fulfilling orders from the stock in your store.
Receiving and Confirming Orders: Next, create a process for receiving and confirming your click and collect orders. Who in your store is being informed that a new order has been placed? Will the employees at your customer service desk be responsible for this? At the cash register? Will there be dedicated click and collect fulfillment employees? Create a plan for who is being informed, and how they can respond with a confirmation in a timely manner.
Shopping Operations: In addition to creating a process around which employees will confirm the orders, train staff on how to shop for and bag up customer items, if they work in a location that typically allows customers to shop for themselves. Retail leaders should also be cognizant of staffing after adding click and collect options as well, as adding click and collect order into current in-person demands may overwhelm your staff, if you keep staffing the same. Be sure to track how many orders come in and how much time is dedicated to preparing those orders.
Designate a Pick-Up Area: Next, designate an area where customers will go to pick up their orders. Will you dedicate floor space to a shelf where customers can pick up their items themselves? Or will you designate one of the cash registers for click and collect processing? If you offer curbside delivery, where will you stage the items and who will bring them outside? Once you designate an area, be sure to give instructions to the customer in their confirmation email or notification on where to go to pick up their items.
Track Your Success: Finally, measure the success of your click and collect initiatives by tracking the data associated with it, like how many customers are using click and collect, how much they're purchasing, when they're purchasing, and what their demographic is. Ask for feedback around the process as well — an email confirmation is unclear, the pick-up experience relies on a cashier who is always busy, items are never ready on time — so that you can make improvements to better serve your customers.

Add value to your customer experiences today

Click and collect experiences are a great way to give customers the flexibility on how they want to shop with you, and a great way to drive sales and engagement.

As more brick-and-mortar retailers across all different industries are adopting click and collect options, and as more customers expect brands to offer those options, now is the time to set your brick-and-mortar up for the future of customer experiences.