Sainsbury’s builds on Argos–eBay tie-up with 200 click-and-collect points

The supermarket giant, which is driving a multichannel strategy to be there for its customers “whenever and wherever they want”, said the newly-designed desks would serve as a “one-stop destination” for customers.

Sainsbury’s said the collection points will allow shoppers to pick up Tu clothing orders, eBay orders and DPD parcel deliveries from one location.

Thirty of the 200 new click-and-collect desks, which will be launched by the end of the year, will also offer Argos online collection.

The digital collection points will feature tablets, allowing customers to check-in and “significantly” speed up the time it takes to receive their parcels, Sainsbury’s said.

The move comes a week after Sainsbury’s officially completed the £1.4bn acquisition of Argos owner Home Retail Group, which has been subsequently rebranded Sainsbury’s Argos.

Earlier this week, the grocer revealed plans to launch five Mini Habitat concessions in its larger stores and roll out 20 more Argos shop-in-shops as it seeks to add variety to its offer in larger supermarkets and make better use of store space.

Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe believes the enlarged group can compete with the likes of Amazon and John Lewis in non-food, while leveraging Argos’ online and fulfilment capabilities to enhance its multichannel capabilities.

Coupe said the new click-and-collect points were “a clear demonstration” of how the Argos acquisition will benefit customers, by “bringing them a broader range of quality goods and services whenever and wherever they want.”

EBay UK vice president, Tanya Lawler, added: “We know that shoppers love to click and collect.

“Building upon our exclusive click and collect partnership with Argos, by establishing 200 further collection points in Sainsbury’s stores, means even greater choice and convenience for shoppers.”

Argos initially joined forces with eBay in September 2014, rolling out click-and-collect services in Argos stores across the UK, allowing sellers to ship parcels to customers’ local Argos stores for collection.

In March last year, the businesses piloted a “world first” ‘click and drop’ service to help sellers cut the cost of delivering items to customers.

Last October, Argos and eBay revealed they would be extending the service nationwide following a pilot in 10 Argos stores.