THE last 10 years have seen an exponential growth in click and collect services in the UK, much of it through convenience channels.
And a 2015 report by the IMRG, the UK’s industry association for e-retail, predicts that click and collect will continue growing at a rate of 20% a year.
The trend presents a fantastic opportunity for independent forecourt dealers who are ideally placed for parcel drop-off or return locations, according to Paul Yates, Jet territory manager for Scotland.
He said: “Whether it’s a parcel collection service such as Hermes or CollectPlus, or a locker service such as InPost or Amazon lockers, forecourt dealers can attract footfall – and often a new customer base – by introducing these facilities.”
Jet has been encouraging its dealers to contact parcel collection service providers and has introduced several to Amazon lockers, through an alliance with the online retailer that it established in 2015.
Garry Gibson, head of operations at Jet site Cooper Brothers in Newmains, North Lanarkshire, is one of a number of Jet dealers who has introduced an Amazon locker. He said: “Customers love the convenience – they can park easily, come at a time that suits them 24/7, and return items using the locker as well. It’s very quick and user-friendly and it’s definitely attracting new customers and driving up our footfall.”
Jet’s Springbank Service Station in Irvine, North Ayrshire, introduced Hermes in 2012. Maureen Rowan, owner, said: “Introducing Hermes definitely brought new customers into the store.
“The process for customers – and staff – is so easy. We simply scan customers’ bar-coded parcels and a courier comes in every day apart from Sundays to collect them. And with more and more larger companies using Hermes, we’re seeing an increase in customers getting their orders delivered to our store.”
Ramsay MacDonald, retail director of Certas Energy, also reckons click and collect provides forecourt retailers with a good ‘reason to visit’. He said: “If it is convenient for households to collect their groceries from a supermarket, it must be even more convenient to collect from their local forecourt where access and parking are invariably easier and the service is more personable.
“It is a natural progression for many rural filling stations who have successfully offered a collect service within their communities for years, utilising the forecourt’s location, size and extended opening hours.”
