Britain is currently the biggest global user of the service which allows shoppers to buy online and collect their purchase from a local depot. Nine months ago Asda launched its click and collect services in a partnership with Transport for London, and since then the demand for it has grown. It has been announced yesterday that TFL will include six more click and collect services in its underground car parks.
Click and collect seems to have become the next big thing on the high street as other companies such as M&S, Royal Mail, Amazon are participating in the initiative. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury‘s already offer click-and-collect at stations, with some allowing customers to place an order for groceries in the morning and have it waiting for them when they return home from work. The service means that shoppers who work unsociable hours could get their shopping at 4am if they wished to.
From the 9th of September customers will be able to organise same day collections of products from Asda at Blackhorse Road, Canons Park, Queensbury and Hainault. This will be extended to Fairlop the following day and also to Hornchurch by the end of the month.
The trial with Asda was successful and now by expanding the services, it will become easier for commuters to pick up their shopping on their way home. There is no doubt that other supermarkets and retailers can evaluate the level of success that this new form of e-commerce will bring, hence why they are being quick to join in and compete.
“Asda has led the way on providing new ways for our customers to shop and given the popularity of the existing service, creating more sites across the capital was the next logical step,” said Mark Ibbotson, Asda‘s Chief Operating Officer.
TFL‘s head of commercial development thinks that a greater number of these services should be introduced to more underground stations and replace ‘tatty‘ shops. He wants to upgrade the network‘s Wi-Fi capabilities to allow commutes to order their coffee in the morning and have it waiting for them when they return home from work.
He commented “TfL and London Underground has seen itself for a long time as a transport business to move people around London successfully and reliably, and we have not seen ourselves as a retail business. Well, we have 1,000 retail units, so whether we like it or not, we have a retail business.”
