Click and Collect Fulfilment: A Growing UK Channel

Click and Collect Is Here to Stay

Click and collect grew rapidly during the pandemic and has become a permanent feature of UK retail. Over 30% of UK online shoppers now regularly use click and collect, and the channel is growing year on year.

For ecommerce brands, offering click and collect means reaching customers who:

Want to avoid delivery charges
Need the item today or tomorrow
Prefer not to wait at home for a delivery
Want to inspect before committing

How It Works

For Retailers with Physical Stores

Customer orders online and selects a store for collection
Order is either picked from store stock or shipped from a warehouse to the store
Customer is notified when ready
Customer collects and can return in-store if needed

For Pure-Play Ecommerce Brands

Without your own stores, click and collect options include:

Network	Locations	How It Works
InPost Lockers	5,000+	Parcels delivered to automated lockers
Collect+ (Yodel)	7,000+	Parcels held at local shops
Amazon Hub	1,000+	Available to Amazon sellers
Royal Mail	11,500 Post Offices	Redirected failed deliveries
DPD Pickup	2,500+	Parcels delivered to partner shops

Integration with Your Fulfilment

From a fulfilment perspective, click and collect orders are similar to standard deliveries:

Order received from your sales channel
Picked and packed at your warehouse
Shipped via the relevant carrier to the collection point
Customer notified to collect

The main difference is the carrier service selected — you're shipping to a locker or shop rather than a residential address.

Benefits for Ecommerce Brands

Lower Delivery Costs

Delivering to a locker or collection point is typically 10–20% cheaper than residential delivery because:

No failed delivery attempts
Efficient batch delivery to collection points
No safe-place or neighbour delivery complications

Reduced Returns

Customers who collect in person are less likely to return items — they've made the effort to collect, and some inspect before taking the item.

Higher Conversion

Offering click and collect at checkout can increase conversion by 5–10%, particularly for customers who don't want to pay for delivery or aren't available to receive parcels.

Challenges

Customer expectations: Collection should be ready within 24 hours
Returns complexity: Where does the customer return — to the collection point or by post?
Carrier integration: Not all carriers offer all collection networks
Notification reliability: Customers need timely, accurate collection notifications

Is Click and Collect Right for You?

Consider it if:

Your customers are price-sensitive on delivery
Your target demographic includes urban professionals (heavy locker users)
You're already shipping via carriers that offer collection point access
You want to reduce failed delivery rates

At The Fulfilment Centre, our multi-carrier network includes access to major UK collection point networks. Contact us to discuss adding click and collect to your fulfilment options.

Want to offer click and collect? Get in touch to explore the carrier and fulfilment setup.