New retail partnerships with John Lewis and Asda help drive parcel numbers
CollectPlus network grows to over 5,250 stores across the UK
Watford, 23 May 2013: Following strong annual results from its shareholder, PayPoint, CollectPlus has announced that it has further increased its parcel volumes and is now handling 7.7 million transactions a year. This, in turn, has helped more than double revenue growth to £17.8 million for the largest store-based parcel delivery service in the UK.
On average, five new retailers are partnering with CollectPlus each month in order to offer their customers fully tracked returns and ‘Click&Collect+’ solutions. CollectPlus now works with over 210 retail brands and its client base has increased by 32% year-on-year. New clients in the last 12 months include John Lewis, Asda, Clarks, Schuh, Hobbs, Music Magpie and Brand Alley.
This growth demonstrates how retailers are responding to changing consumer needs. With research1 indicating that over half (51%) of online shoppers would be more likely to buy goods from a retailer that offered delivery to a convenient collection point and two thirds (66%) seeing the benefits of an alternative collection point to the retailer’s shop, brands are increasingly seeing the value of a third-party solution, like CollectPlus.
Neil Ashworth, CEO of CollectPlus, says of the results:
“It has been a very strong twelve months for CollectPlus as a greater number of retailers and their customers have discovered the solution we provide in a changing retail environment. Helping to redesign and augment the customer experience, and making it as convenient as possible, is key to how CollectPlus operates as a partner to retail brands – something we are continuing to invest in. I believe that it is these core values that allow our retail partners to better align themselves with the busy lives of their customers.”
Today’s positive results have been helped by additional investment in CollectPlus’ network of stores, which now stands at over 5,250; made possible by the strength and breadth of PayPoint’s estate of 25,000 stores nationwide. CollectPlus’ growing network makes it the largest store-based parcel service and a modern-day alternative to the Post Office; with 88% of UK residents in towns within a mile of its stores. Unlike the Post Office, however, nearly all outlets offering the CollectPlus service are open seven days a week, early until late. With 40% of CollectPlus’ customers sending or dropping off parcels outside traditional 9-5 opening hours, the service solves a long-term problem for consumers.
Commercial benefits to retailers within the PayPoint network that offer CollectPlus are also significant, with recent research2 stating that the average CollectPlus store earns additional annual revenue of £2,712. Furthermore, almost two thirds (64%) of customers stated they had not used the store for other visits or purchases before using the CollectPlus parcel service. With nearly 50% of CollectPlus customers stating that they purchase other items from the store, as well as 63% stating they will use the store again, there are instant and lasting benefits for participating stores.
Neil Ashworth continues:
“The CollectPlus network of convenience stores, newsagents and petrol stations is essential to our continued success so it is fantastic that we can demonstrate commercial benefits of the service to individual businesses. Not only is it a great opportunity to raise customer loyalty, it is also proven to increase sales over and above the commission earned from CollectPlus, giving participating stores a valuable edge over their local competitors.”
CollectPlus is a joint venture between Yodel, the UK’s leading parcel delivery company and PayPoint, the UK’s leading retail payment network.
ENDS
1. Opinion Matters, January 2013 conducted on behalf of CollectPlus
2. PayPoint store value research April 2013, conducted on behalf of CollectPlus
Notes to editors
For more information or to speak to Neil Ashworth of CollectPlus, please contact the CollectPlus Press Office on:
T: 0207 025 6500
E: [email protected]
ABOUT COLLECTPLUS
CollectPlus is a delivery and returns service giving online shoppers the choice to collect and drop off parcels at local convenience stores. Founded in 2009, it answers a clear need for a modern alternative to the Post Office that is convenient and easy to use.
The success of the innovative model is reflected in the 210 retail brands that CollectPlus provides returns solutions for, with nearly 100 added over the past year. Delivery to local store, Click&CollectPlus, is provided to a rising number of retailers from Amazon to John Lewis and Asda to Music Magpie and Very.co.uk. This complements the returns offer that CollectPlus provides to retailers, offering a complete delivery and returns service.
With a network of over 5,200 shops open early ‘til late seven days a week; 88% of the UK population already live within a mile of a CollectPlus shop in urban areas and 89% within five miles in rural areas. The store network has grown by over a quarter in the last 12 months and continues to expand.
In 2011, CollectPlus was named ‘Third Party Logistics Supplier of the Year’ at the Retail Week Supply Chain awards; ‘Innovative Delivery Service’ at IMRG’s eCommerce Excellence Awards; and has been highly commended by Retail Systems for ‘Supply Chain Solution of the Year’.
CollectPlus is a joint venture between PayPoint, the leading retail payment network, and the UK’s leading parcel delivery company, Yodel.
ABOUT YODEL
Home Delivery Network Ltd on 1 March 2010 purchased through its subsidiary company, Parcelpoint Ltd, the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express (UK) Ltd and rebranded as Yodel in May 2010. The company delivers more than 150 million parcels per year with annual revenues of £535 million and is the second-largest parcel delivery business in the UK after the Post Office.
Yodel operates from a national network of sort and service centres and has a fleet of over 5,000 vans.
The company is headquartered in Hatfield.