More consumers are buying their products online and then picking them up at a store. These “click-and-collect” buyers are helping to boost in-store sales, which could bode well for the commercial real estate market.
More than 50 percent of adults use click-and-collect buying methods. In fact, 61 percent say they use it frequently (at least once per month), according to a new survey of about 1,000 consumers conducted by ICSC, a global resource for the retail real estate industry. Further, this shopping style is growing in popularity: 47 percent of click-and-collect buyers say they used the method more now than a year ago.
“The use of click-and-collect demonstrates the ongoing convergence of physical and digital,” says Tom McGee, ICSC president and CEO. “Consumers want options when making their purchases and the retailers who are offering the most channels are seeing more purchases being made.”
The ICSC survey says that click-and-collect demonstrates that having an online store augments in-store sales. Sixty-seven percent of click-and-collect users buy extra items from retailers when picking up their original order, and 60 percent make a purchase then at a nearby store, according to the survey.
The top reasons for using click-and-collect are no delivery fees, receiving purchased items more quickly, and assurance that items will be available when shopping at the store.
The urgency to get what they buy is bringing consumers back into the store. Eighty-five percent of consumers surveyed said they were only willing to wait up to one day for in-stock items to be available for pickup; 70 percent also said they’d wait for up to two days for out-of-stock items.
“The line between physical and digital retail continues to blur, and convenience and technology define retail trends,” according to the report.
Source: ICSC
