VIEWPOINT


IS CONVENIENCE THE NEXT BATTLEGROUND IN


MERCHANT RETAIL? David Wolfenden, managing director at Ripple


THE TRADE COUNTER has always been built around convenience, but customer expectations of what that means are changing. While making conversation with a merchant first thing in the morning is a staple of many people’s day, there are times when those minutes are better spent.


That is why the rise of collection lockers is particularly interesting for merchant retail. They are certainly not a new concept, but their growing popularity could lead to higher revenues for many. What started largely as a solution for consumers, collecting online shopping orders is becoming something much broader. It is a way for retailers to make their stores more useful, flexible and potentially more commercially valuable, without customers having to set foot inside.


The numbers suggest this is no passing trend. More than 115 million retail parcels were delivered or returned through lockers in the UK over the past year, according to research from InPost and Retail Economics.


Some 87 million were outbound deliveries, equivalent to 7% of all online orders, while a further 28 million returns went through lockers. Two in five UK adults have used a parcel locker in the past year, with a further 20% saying they would consider doing so.


Secure lockers mean tradespeople can collect orders outside normal counter hours, without queuing or relying on someone being available to hand them an order. This gives them greater control over the working day and makes an early start possible.


A well-designed collection locker is another customer touchpoint. It gives people a reason to visit a physical location, potentially at times when they would not otherwise have done so.


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Research from InPost illustrates the commercial potential. Its 2025 consumer research found that 78% of locker users make a purchase when collecting or sending a parcel, with an average spend of £22.90 per visit. The research also found that 64% of users say they return to retail locations more frequently. These figures relate to consumer behaviour, but they illustrate the potential commercial value of locker- generated visits for trade. The effect is particularly


pronounced at convenience stores, with InPost research showing that nearly three-quarters of users visited a nearby convenience store before or after using a locker. A third of those surveyed spent up to £15 at the store while using the locker. The lesson for builders’ merchants is not that every locker collection will result in a large additional sale. It is that convenience can create footfall, and footfall creates an opportunity to sell. A tradesperson arriving to collect an order may realise they also need sealant, fixings, PPE or another product for the job. The locker is not replacing the trade counter, but it creates another route into it. Trade retail has a different convenience challenge. There is, however, a difference between putting a standard parcel locker outside a shop and designing collection infrastructure specifically for trade retail.


Paint, tools, fixings, building materials and other trade products come in very different shapes, weights and formats. Some products need to be protected from damage. Others need to be kept upright or separated or stored under particular conditions.


Ripple addressed these challenges when working with Dulux Decorator Centre on a nationwide collection locker solution. The brief was to create a branded, durable locker system that could safely store


More than 115 million retail parcels were delivered or returned through


lockers in the UK over the past year. Research from InPost


and Retail Economics


trade paints of different sizes while giving customers the flexibility to collect orders at a time that suited them. The result was more than 150 bespoke lockers, designed and manufactured for rollout across the UK.


The engineering had to work for the realities of trade retail. Internal shelving was designed to handle varied paint formats while helping prevent spills and dents. Each unit incorporated a clean-up kit and internal stacking plates, making the lockers practical for both staff loading orders and customers collecting them.


This demonstrates how


convenience infrastructure needs to be designed around the product and the customer, rather than treating the locker as a generic add-on. 24/7 collection changes the role of the store. A locker can extend the useful availability of a store without requiring the store itself to remain open. That is what we’re seeing with Toolstation’s recent trial at its Battersea GO store, where 17 eLockers have been installed outside the store. Customers can order through the Toolstation website or


app and, once notified that their order is ready, collect it using a code on their phone. The lockers are available for collection 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


It is an interesting development because it shows where click and collect is heading. The model is no longer simply about ordering online and collecting from a counter. It is about removing the final piece of friction from the process. That matters for a time-poor tradesperson, who has a packed diary of quotes and jobs to get to. Trade retail has always competed on availability, product range, price and service. Convenience increasingly belongs on that list. The strongest model is likely to be a combination of traditional service, click and collect, delivery and self-service collection. The people, advice and expertise in our industry matter; this solution simply adds another string to forward-thinking merchants’ bows.


As customer expectations change, flexibility is becoming part of the service itself. The opportunity for trade retailers is to think about lockers not simply as a logistics solution, but as part of the customer experience, and potentially part of the sales strategy too.


Dulux Decorator Centre’s rollout showed that collection infrastructure can be designed around the realities of trade products and rolled out at scale. Toolstation’s Battersea trial shows that retailers are now testing what happens when collection becomes genuinely available around the clock.


Collection solutions need not be confined by the size or nature of a product. Enabling customers to collect when it suits them can unlock a new level of convenience. The value lies not just in the locker itself, but in giving the customers another reason to choose your branch. BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2026


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