Shoppers with Asos can now Click & Collect their purchases, picking them up at their local convenience store.
The fashion etailer has added the convenience of a service usually offered by multichannel retailers through a partnership with CollectPlus, with its network of more than 4,500 supermarket, corner shop and newsagent pick-up points. The move gives it the benefit of a service that is growing quickly both in popularity and use: IMRG figures showed 10.4% of online sales were collected using such a service in the last quarter of 2011.
Shoppers use the service by clicking on the CollectPlus link when they check out on the Asos site. They are emailed or texted with a seven-digit code once their item has arrived and take that, along with proof of identity, to their local shop within 10 days. Through the CollectPlus service, shoppers have a choice of next day delivery or a standard, three day service. Returns can also be made through the network, which currently includes more than 4,500 shops, including supermarkets, corner shops and newsagents.
On its website, Asos says the service will help shoppers overcome the frustration of missing a delivery. “You can choose from thousands of local shops for your parcel to be delivered to so you
can pick it up whilst you’re popping out for a pint of milk, grabbing a late-night snack or simply when
it’s most convenient for you,” it says.
Mark Lewis, chief executive of CollectPlus said: “I’m delighted that ASOS have chosen to offer our Click & CollectPlus service as a delivery option for their customers, allowing them to pick up their ASOS parcels from their local CollectPlus corner shop.
“Missed deliveries are frustrating for online shoppers and costly for retailers and delivery companies. The option of a click and collect service means that if people can’t be sure, or don’t wish to wait in they can avoid the delay of missed deliveries by choosing to pick up their goods from their local CollectPlus store.”
He said the service supplies a physical presence previously only available through the Post Office, citing Collect+’s own research, an Opinium poll of 2,000 online and postal shoppers carried out in November that showed missing a delivery or having to wait in for a delivery were the top frustrations in the delivery process.