Three-quarters of consumers unwilling to pay for click-and-collect

The findings will come as a blow to John Lewis, which revealed last week that it would start charging shoppers £2 on click-and-collect orders below £30 from the end of July.

The department store’s managing director Andy Street said the current model of free delivery was “unsustainable”.

Of those that said they would pay for the service, 11% said they would be willing to spend between £1 to £2 to pick up their online order in-store, while 5% said they’d pay between £3 and £5. Some 2% admitted they’d be willing to splash out £10 on click-and-collect, according to the research by ICM.

The survey uncovered big differences between the older and younger generations, with 88% of 55 to 64-years-olds unwilling to pay for click-and-collect compared with 56% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

While John Lewis believes other retailers are likely to follow suit and introduce a click-and-collect fee, rivals Marks & Spencer, Next and House of Fraser have committed to offering the service for free.