Mums driving click-and-collect popularity

Almost 90 percent of mums used click-and-collect services for their Christmas shopping in 2015, according to research from global retail agency Visual Thinking.

The findings found that 89 percent of mums surveyed used click-and-collect over the festive period, compared to just below two-thirds the previous year, highlighting how mums are driving the popularity of the service.

Nearly a third of respondents said they used click-and-collect for up to a quarter of their Christmas shopping last year, rising from just 14 percent in 2014. With more than a half of mums saying they used click-and-collect services to save money on delivery costs, despite the fact that some retailers, for instance John Lewis, now charge a fee for orders, under 30 pounds. Other factors including guaranteed availability, that click-and-collect fits in with their lifestyle, and the locality of the store.

The top ten most popular retailers for mums to use click-and-collect were Argos, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Asda, Boots, Next, John Lewis, Debenhams, New Look and Mothercare. With the most popular category being fashion with 27 percent, followed by toys and games at 24 percent and homeware at 14 percent.

Over a quarter (29 percent) of all items purchased through click-and-collect cost 20 pounds and under, whilst a further 33 percent were priced between 21-40 pounds. Only 6 percent of mums surveyed spent between 61-80 pounds on a click-and-collect item.

Karl McKeever, founder and managing director of Visual Thinking, said: “Click-and-collect offers a convenient and cost-effective option for busy mums who want to treat their family at Christmas. For retailers, this can lead to increased sales but it may also result in missed opportunities, for example, 67 percent of mums who visited a store to pick up a click-and-collect order left without buying anything else.

“This means retailers must have a laser focus on finding ways to engage customers entering stores on such a shopping mission, without compromising the customers’ need for a fast and convenient in-store experience.”