Click and Collect economy booms as hybrid shopping grows increasingly popular

According to a Barclaycard report, click and collect transactions will be worth £42.4 billion in 2022, accounting for 8.4% of total retail expenditure in the UK.

The research, titled ‘What’s in Store for Retail?,’ focuses on retail enterprises with more than 10 workers and examines the growth of ‘hybrid’ shopping. Barclaycard polled 2,006 UK shoppers and 600 UK senior executives from retail enterprises with at least one physical location.

Barclaycards report concluded that Click and Collect currently accounts for 40% of sales for stores that provide the service, up from 37% the previous year. The service’s popularity rose during the Covid-19 epidemic, but unlike pure internet sales, which peaked around that time, it has continued to rise when the lockdown restrictions were lifted.

The Click and Collect economy currently supports 184,000 positions across the industry, accounting for 7.4% of the overall workforce. 41% of physical businesses in the UK are used as Click and Collect sites, with the same percentage used to handle returns.

Consumers prefer to study items online and in-store in equal amount across a variety of categories. When purchasing from online-only enterprises, 24% are apprehensive, a ratio that lowers to just over one-tenth when businesses also have physical storefronts.

Despite the growing popularity of internet shopping, the high street remains popular. When asked whether physical retail space had a future, 67% of customers agreed, with 32% strongly agreeing.

However, there is a distinct age divide: 54% of 16-24-year-olds trust in the future of the physical store, compared to 74% of those over 55. 88% of retailers believe that having a physical presence is critical to their company’s success. However, many are reconsidering where their real estate is located in order to ensure that they are in the most enticing locations for consumers.

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail and Wholesale at Barclays Corporate Banking, commented: “Perhaps more than any other sector over the past two years, retail has been forced into a period of accelerated evolution.”

“The pandemic drove everyone online, and now the rising cost of living is increasing business outgoings while reducing consumer spending.”

“Encouragingly for the UK’s retail sector, however, businesses are adapting their sales models to weather these financial storms as effectively as possible. Links between digital and physical shopping are being evolved, which are opening up new opportunities and ways to generate income.”