John Lewis is to double the number of places shoppers can collect their online shopping, by rolling out its Click and Collect service to another 60 Waitrose branches.
By the end of October, it says, it will have 119 collection points around the UK. Collection points already include the 28 John Lewis department stores, plus its four ‘at home’ format shops and 24 Waitrose branches.
The first Waitrose stores to offer the service will be those in Harrogate, Lincoln and Towcester, during September, with a rolling programme to bring 60 stores around the country on board by the end of the following month.
The move should be a significant one for John Lewis’ aspiration to bring its multichannel services within reach of a greater number of shoppers. Its Click and Collect service is currently its fastest growing delivery channel, and accounts for 20% of johnlewis.com orders. Using it, shoppers can order from among more than 130,000 products for free delivery to a local outlet. Orders placed before 7pm can be collected from their nominated outlet after 2pm the next day.
Next year, the company says, it will be further expanding its designated collection points to bring them “easy reach for most customers throughout the country.”
John Lewis managing director Andy Street said: “The collaboration with Waitrose has been hugely important in offering our customers the option to Click and Collect for their purchases. Looking to the future it will be a key element in developing our multichannel strategy even further by extending collection points to many more parts of the country.
“Of all John Lewis services, Click and Collect scores highest among our customers on recommending the service to others. That speaks volumes about the appetite for multi channel shopping in the retail arena”.
Waitrose this week also unveiled research that shows more customers opting for online grocery deliveries to their UK holiday home. Shoppers opting for staycations in the UK have been deciding not to take their food in overloaded cars, said Mark Williamson, commercial Director, Waitrose. He said: “Our Waitrose.com team have been delivering an increasing amount of orders to campsites, holiday homes and even canal boats.”
The supermarket’s own research suggested that 47% of people prefer to cook their own meals when on holiday in the UK rather than eat out. Some 62% say this is to save money. The figures came as Waitrose unveiled its sales figures for the week, showing a 14.5% rise in online sales in the week to August 27, compared to the same time lat year, while total sales rose by 9.9%.
Sister company John Lewis reported a 0.4% drop in total sales, excluding VAT, during the same week but said online sales rose by 33.9%. Childrenswear reported a 185% rise in online sales, as families prepared for the new school term.
