River Island launches ‘click and don’t collect’ service for busy shoppers

Fashion giant River Island has unveiled a ‘click and don’t collect’ option in partnership with eBay-owned fulfilment specialist Shutl.

The service, which River Island is the first to introduce, was developed in response to the number of customers across retail who are unable to collect online orders in store.

Research carried out in September by Shutl and Retail Week indicated that a fifth of shoppers request a refund rather than collecting in store after ordering goods online.

The click and don’t collect service enables customers who end up being unable to get to a store to have their order delivered to them within 90 minutes or at a time of their choice.

River Island chief information officer Doug Gardner told Retail Week: “We have a number of click-and-collect orders that customers have paid for and are subsequently unable to collect from store.

“The rigours of modern life mean that it is not always convenient for them to make the time to go and receive their goods and, in order to avoid simply refunding the customer, we found the solution offered by Shutl highly effective in terms of customer convenience and saving sales.”

Shutl chief executive Tom Allason said: “Non-collection continues to be a headache for retailers. Not only does it result in lost sales, but there are practical implications too – for example, how to hold additional stock and where best to direct online customers from a store layout perspective.

“By giving customers control over the delivery of their click-and-collect purchases, we’re removing the barriers of in-store collection and ensuring greater order fulfilment.”

Use of the Shutl service costs customers £4.95.

River Island launched the service ahead of Black Friday and the key Christmas period, when click-and-collect is likely to be widely used by shoppers.