Navigating the Last Mile in Grocery Shopping: The Click and Collect Format

Abstract

Many retailers are rushing into the click and collect (C&C) format, where shoppers place orders online and pick up the goods themselves later. The authors study the demand implications of C&C, and postulate how different ways of organizing this format – each with their own convenience features – appeal to households with different shopper characteristics. Based on two data sets, each covering the introduction of two different C&C fulfillment types by a major grocery retailer in a large number of local markets, the authors compare the impact of In-Store fulfillment (pickup at existing stores), Near-Store fulfillment (pickup at outlets adjoining stores), and Stand-Alone fulfillment (pickup at free-standing locations). The authors find that the shift in online consumer spending significantly differs between the three order fulfillment types, as does the impact on total spending. No one order fulfillment type systematically dominates; the effects depend heavily on shopper characteristics. The study’s results provide guidance on which C&C fulfillment type(s) to operate under what conditions and caution retailers not to take the easy In-Store route routinely.

Keywords: retailing, e-commerce, order fulfillment, grocery shopping, distribution channels, online, click and collect, brick and mortar

Biography

Katrijn Gielens is Professor of Marketing and Sarah Graham Kenan Scholar at UNC Kenan Flagler Business School, United States. Gielens’ research focuses on the dynamics in digital and brick-and-mortar retailing and relationships between retailers and brand manufacturers. She teaches courses in retailing and channel management. She serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of International Marketing. She is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Retailing and the International Journal of Research in Marketing.