Click & Collect & Online Reservations
Definition and Origins of Click and Collect
Click-and-Collect first appeared in the 2000s thanks to the Argos retail chain. For the first time, a retailer allowed its customers to reserve items online and pick them up in-store later. This innovation was an immediate and huge success, which accelerated the group’s growth.
Online Reservation and In-Store Pickup
Today, the trend is to research products online before buying them in-store. This is known as ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline) or ROBO (Research Online, Buy Offline).
Click-and-Collect—also known as E-Reservation, Check and Reserve, Click and Pick-up, or Reserve and Collect—has, of course, accelerated this trend. And that’s because the service offers nothing but benefits.
In fact, customers can instantly reserve an item they love, with no obligation to buy. They can then come pick it up within a certain time frame, usually 48 hours. Once there, they can try it on, touch it, and get familiar with the product. No more hassle with shipping or returnsif they change their mind.
For retailers, Click and Collect provides a pathway to phygital, and the only challenge they face is adapting their inventory management.
However, be careful. E-Reservation is often confused with In-Store Pickup. Although very similar, the two services are different. In fact, an in-store pickup requires that the order be paid for in advance. The inventory used is therefore from the online store, not the retailer’s. The item will then be shipped, and the store chosen for pickup will simply serve as a standard pickup location.
However, with the growing digitization of retail locations and solutions such as those offered by Wishibam, it will no longer be necessary to distinguish between the two services.