eBay and Argos launch ‘Click & Collect’ shopping scheme

Online shopping is about to get easier as Argos and eBay join forces and offer customers the chance to pick up their shopping at secure lockers.

Ebay and Argos have teamed up to allow shoppers to buy online at the auction website and then pick up their purchases in selected Argos shops.

Once shoppers order items online, they will be sent to an Argos branch where they will be held in secure passcode-protected lockers.

At first the Click & Collect scheme will be available at 150 branches of Argos where shoppers will be able to collect items purchased from 50 eBay merchants. 

It is due to launch in the last quarter of 2013.

Click & Collect

This new tie-up will be trialled for six months and if successful it's expected to expand and include more eBay sellers and more Argos branches.

Argos already runs its own click-and-collect service, which it created in 2000. This lets shoppers order items which aren’t in stock in their local store, and accounts for around one-third of all deliveries it sends out.

Online shopping and delivery

Using a free service such as Click & Collect means shoppers don’t need to wait in for a delivery, or risk missing a delivery, or risk a delivery going missing if it's left outside the house.

There are a number of other similar schemes already running.

Amazon runs a scheme called Amazon Locker, where customers can collect items ordered online from secure lockers.

Amazon and eBay are also members of the Collect+ scheme. This allows customers to order parcels online and pick them up at participating corner shops.

They were used by 40% of customers last Christmas, according to an Econsultancy Online Shopping Survey, and as online shopping grows it’s expected other brands will launch similar tie-ups to make the entire experience quicker and easier.

“Traditional retail isn’t going away; it is transforming. Smart retailers are innovating, reimagining the store and what it means to shop,” says Devin Wenig, President for eBay Marketplaces.

John Walden, Managing Director for Argos, said: “We look forward to assessing the opportunity for Argos to provide fulfilment for eBay’s merchants, including the operational requirements, attractiveness to sellers and consumers, and opportunity for increased customer footfall.”

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