Report
already disappeared in Apple’s stores, where staff carry mobile card scanners fixed to an iTouch. Staff are able to complete a transaction with a customer once they have helped them find the right product. Similarly, Disney Store is introducing iTouch-based mobile points of sale in its shops around the world. The development of email receipts and contactless ‘e-wallets’, where mobile phones can be used as swipe cards to pay for goods, is only likely to drive the trend. Terrell believes e-wallets could potentially lead to a more sophisticated type of self-checkout. “I don’t think we’ll see a lot of that in 2012 but it is definitely an interesting development for the future,” he says.
Collecting customers The biggest change happening to stores’ physical environ- ment is the need to make room for click-and-collect services. Last Christmas there was a dramatic up-lift in the impor- tance of this service. Overall, click and collect accounted for 10.4% of all online retail sales in the third quarter of 2011 up from 7.4% in the previous quarter, according to internet shopping group IMRG and Capgemini. Sainsbury’s said 75% of its online general merchandise
orders were picked up in store over Christmas, while John Lewis experienced a 90% increase in usage of its click-and- collect service in the five weeks to December 31. Jon Asbury, channel development manager at Halfords,
says 85% of its online sales are items being reserved or paid for online before they are picked up in store. As a result, online sales now make up 9% of total sales. Halfords’ customers can also check what stock is avail-
able in their local store and five times as many people do so compared with those who reserve items online. He says: “People are a lot more cautious now before setting out for a store, particularly since the price of petrol went up. They don’t want to set out for a store if what they want isn’t there.” Halfords uses online reservations as a way to build a relationship with customers. Anyone ordering a bike online for pick-up in-store is given a phone call to check they have ordered the right frame size but also to suggest any acces- sories that might be useful. The process ties into Halfords’ aim to offer services alongside products. Those with a strong high street presence are also examining whether they can use their space to offer click-and-collect services for other retailers. Shoppers can pick up goods from Waitrose supermarkets when ordered from sister company John Lewis (see page 6). The opportunity to become a handy community hub where shoppers collect goods ordered online was identified as a way to revitalise local stores in Mary Portas’ review of the future of the high street.
New formats Another bonus for the high street is the birth of small format stores backed by multichannel. Department stores and supermarkets are using this concept to gain access to new markets not suitable for their larger stores. John Lewis at
12 spring 2012
Home, the department store group’s small format concept, focuses on technology, homewares and electricals. At 40,000 sq ft, it is less than the third of the size of a full-line department store but offers fashion, beauty and childrens’ products through in-store internet kiosks. House of Fraser is also trialling a small format supported
10.4% 75% 90% 85%
Click and collect’s contribution towards all online retail sales in the third quarter of 2011, according to IMRG and Capgemini
by multichannel services. It opened two 1,500 sq ft stores last year, where shoppers can use a variety of technologies to order goods and pick up and try on items they have already ordered online. Terrell says the stores performed well over Christmas
and have driven a “step change” in sales within their catch- ment area, with a significant proportion of those sales being collected at the stores. He says if the stores continue to trade well there are about 10 locations where House of Fraser could successfully open similar outlets.
The percentage of Sainsbury’s online general merchandise orders picked up in store over Christmas
The increase in usage of John Lewis’ click-and-collect service in the five weeks to December 31
Staying ahead of the game It’s clear that retailers not tapping into the click-and-collect trend are being left behind. Entertainment store HMV, whose only advantage over rival Amazon is its high street estate, has yet to offer click and collect as an option, but hopes to introduce such a service later this year. Even those already offering the service cannot sit back
The percentage of Halfords’ online sales that are items being reserved or paid for online before they are picked up in store
and relax. Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy Conlumino, says retailers need to find creative ways to ensure that when shoppers are popping in to collect goods they have ordered online, they are tempted to make impulse purchases as well: “Click and collect is fine from a convenience point of view but the store model needs to be
Boots has added more luxurious services to increase footfall. In October last year, it launched its first in-store beauty day spa in Milton Keynes in partnership with Champneys
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