What distinguishes a click&collect service from a drive? We’ll answer the question right away to save our readers’ time: fundamentally, click&collect and drive offer the same type of service, namely the ability to pick up an order at a physical location. The main difference is that the drive is designed to accommodate customers’ cars, making it easier for them to pick up their purchase, whereas click&collect often takes place inside the store in question, to avoid having to shop in the store oneself.
But to better understand this concept that has won over consumers, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the multiple lockdowns we’ve experienced in recent years, a brief definition is in order.
What is click and collect? Here’s a simple explanation
With the acceleration of e-commerce, which accounted for 146.9 billion euros in revenue in 2022, traditional retail players have faced numerous challenges, particularly in terms of customer experience. However, thanks to improved cross-channel and omnichannel strategies, these issues have largely been resolved. One of the solutions offered is Click&Collect, a web-to-store service that allows customers to pick up their order in-store rather than opting for traditional delivery.
Indeed, Click&Collect starts with an online order, followed by payment, order confirmation, and in-store preparation. The customer is then notified by SMS and/or email that their order is ready and that they can come to pick it up at the store of their choice. Offering this service as part of a cross-channel strategy helps bridge the gap between online commerce and physical stores, meeting consumer expectations for delivery, particularly in terms of quality and speed.
What is drive? How does it differ from click&collect?
There is also in-store pickup or drive service, a term that varies depending on the brand. The drive has the particularity of being able to operate completely independently with its own stock, unlike Click&Collect, which draws from the store’s stock in question. Simply put, the drive employs order preparers who access stock reserved solely for online orders via the drive, while the preparer of a click and collect order will draw from the store’s stock, where consumers also serve themselves.
In any case, Click and Collect and Drive are two concepts that do not involve the same means but ultimately offer the same service: the advantages are numerous for businesses and customers. Businesses benefit from reduced delivery costs and increased in-store traffic. Customers save on delivery fees and save time compared to traditional delivery. Moreover, for sectors with high returns like textiles, these web-to-store services allow customers to plan their purchases with confidence and try them on at the time of in-store pickup if possible, if the store offers fitting rooms.
In summary, Click&Collect and Drive are two advantageous solutions for businesses and customers, emphasizing the geographical proximity between buyer and seller. This model offers a compromise between e-commerce and traditional commerce, allowing customers to pick up their order in-store while enjoying the benefits of e-commerce. This has given rise to new alternatives from e-commerce, such as Amazon hub lockers, which allow customers to pick up their online purchases at strategic locations (stations, shopping centers, etc.).