Boots’ ‘click and collect’ service has been rolled out to nearly all 2,500 Boots stores across the UK, and the proportion of online orders collected this way rose to over 40% for the year, Alliance Boots has said. The service through the Boots.com website gives customers easy access to the extended Boots product range, including an extensive seasonal gift offering.
Boots has also seen use of its Advantage Card boosted by the launch last October of ‘Treat Street’, an online shopping service which enables Boots Advantage Card customers to collect points when they shop online with around 60 well known retail brands. In the last year the number of active Boots Advantage Card holders, defined as members who have used their card at least once in the last 12 months, grew to 16.8 million, reflecting its position as one of the largest loyalty schemes in the UK.
Alliance Boots has just published its preliminary results for the year to March 31 2011. Group sales improved 15.1% to £20.2bn, generating a trading profit up 14.2% to £1.05bn in the year. During the trading period the pharmaceuticals wholesale division grew most strongly.
Sales at Alliance Boots’ health and beauty division, which includes the Boots chain, rose 1.7% to £7.62bn and trading profit rose 5.5% to £767m. Meanwhile Boots UK’s sales rose 1.1% to £6.39bn, while like-for-like retail revenue including VAT rose 1.2% and dispensing volume was up 3.6%.
