John Lewis this week showed how important it believes convenient collection is to the multichannel model as it formalised its partnership with Clipper Logistics on a joint venture to provide click and collect services to online retailers.
The joint venture will operate a dedicated next-day delivery to store service whose clients will include John Lewis alongside a number of unspecified customers that are already using the service.
The two partners have designed the service following their “extensive research” into consumer demands in this area. Features include timed delivery to store, integration with retailers’ customer service systems to provide updates both to customers and to the store, text messaging to the end customer, and easy, retailer-friendly delivery to store.
Both have invested equally in the business which, as of April 30, had assets of £3.4m. Trials of the service have operated in John Lewis’ deliveries into Waitrose stores, a service that is now available in more than 300 branches. Now the service will be extended to other retailers’ stores.
Dino Rocos, operations director of John Lewis , said: “Click & Collect continues to be our fastest-growing delivery channel, with deliveries to Waitrose making up the majority of those sales. This joint venture will provide a much more tailored service so that Click & Collect orders which reach Waitrose branches are handled in a more efficient way. It will enable us to continue to give an outstanding service to our customers, who love this easy and convenient delivery option.”
Steve Parkin, executive chairman of Clipper, said: “This is a truly ground-breaking development which will revolutionise the provision of Click & Collect services to the High Street in Britain. We are delighted to have worked closely with our partners, John Lewis, to research and develop this unique service proposition which will address directly the challenges posed to retailers in this rapidly growing area of activity. The service is another demonstration of Clipper’s ability to rapidly solve challenges posed to retailers, using our unparalleled understanding of the retail sector.”
