With almost 2,000 shops in the UK, multichannel retailer Boots can offer fulfilment so flexible that customers can take possession of their online purchases in the most convenient way.
Boots celebrated 175 years in business in 2024. The UK health and beauty retailer started life when founder John Boot opened a herbalist shop in Nottingham in 1849. His son Jesse expanded the business, which went on to become the biggest chemist in Britain. Today, it is owned by the Walgreens Boots Alliance and employs in the region of 52,000 people.
Walgreens Boots Alliance reported an operating loss of $14.1bn in its 2024 full-year to the end of August 2024 (+104.5% on the previous year) on sales of $147.7bn (+6.2%). Within that, Boots’ sales grew by 6.9%, with digital sales up by 18.7% to account for nearly 15% of retail sales.
Boots’ mobile app, with about 7.5mn active users, accounted for 40% of digital sales. At year-end, the Boots Advantage Card loyalty scheme had 16.7mn active users.
When shoppers check out of the Boots website, they are shown the most relevant delivery and collection services for their location. Options include free standard delivery, which takes about five days on order values over £25. This is a strategic choice that is reflected in the margin KPI of this value chain, for the way that it reduces the cost per order of delivery.
Premium named-day and next-day delivery services are available, while shoppers can also opt for collection from one of more than 2,000 branches of Boots. This approach is rewarded in the access KPI of this value chain for the way that collection makes it easier for shoppers to take delivery of their orders quickly. Click and collect is free for orders over £15.
The margin metric KPI explores how retailers make the most of every customer contact to boost order values, such as by keeping customers informed and by offering a choice of returns options. Boots puts its delivery and collection promises in prime position on the top of its home page, while returns can be made to store or through the post, after generating a returns label for the order, for up to 35 days.
This profile appeared in our first-ever RetailDNA Operations Value Chain Europe 2024 report.
Focused on the Operations Value Chain, the report highlights how businesses boost efficiency through flexible delivery, collection, and returns. Packed with analysis, graphics, and profiles of 50 top-performing companies, it is your guide to benchmarking success and discovering best practices.
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