Definition: Click and Collect & E-Reservation

Definition and origins Click and Collect

Click and Collect appeared in the 2000s thanks to the Argos retail chain. For the first time, a retailer allowed its customers to reserve items online and pick them up later. This innovation was an immediate success, which accelerated the growth of the group.

E-Reservation and In-Store Pickup

Today, the trend is to canvass online before purchasing in-store. This is called ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline) or ROBO (Research Online, Buy Offline).

Click and Collect, also called E-Reservation, Check and Reserve, Click and Pick-up, or Reserve and Collect, has of course accelerated this trend. And this, because the service has only advantages.

Indeed, the customer can instantly reserve an item he likes, without any obligation to buy. He can then come and pick it up within a given time, usually 48 hours. Once on site, the buyer can try, touch and familiarize himself with the product. No more delivery or return constraints if they change their mind.

For the retailer, Click and Collect allows access to phygital, and the only constraint for him is to adapt his stock management.

However, beware. E-Reservation is often confused with In-Store Pickup. Although very close, the two services are different. Indeed, a store pickup implies a pre-paid order. The stock used is the one of the E-Shop, and not the one of the retailer. The article will then be delivered, and the store chosen for the pick-up will be a classic relay point.

However, with the development of the digitalization of the points of sales, and solutions such as those proposed by Wishibam, it will no longer be necessary to differentiate the two services.