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Your essential Click and Collect retail guide, plus 6 SMS templates

Tips, tricks & hacks 6 min read | Sinch Messagemedia wrote in blog on July 12, 2022

Since Click and Collect first hit Aussie shores in 2019, its popularity has skyrocketed. The pandemic helped drive adoption, and today customers are embracing it as a convenient, fast way to shop.

In 2022, the number of customers using Click and Collect for online shopping in Australia has grown to 13.6%. And, according to an Inside Retailer survey, almost half (49%) of shoppers prefer it for their food and medicine orders. 

No wonder everyone from big brands like Bunnings, Myer and David Jones, through to pure-play online retailers like ASOS and eBay are offering Click and Collect today. And you can, too.

Why use Click and Collect

Once known as ‘Buy Online and Pick Up in Store’ (BOPUS), or ‘Click to Brick’ (C2B), Click and Collect is now a well-recognised eCommerce service. 

Customers love the convenience of shopping online, plus the ability to choose when and where to pick up their items. And brands love it because it helps with inventory management, boosts in-store foot traffic, and reduces the likelihood of returns. It’s a win-win.

Here are some more great reasons to add Click and Collect as a delivery option in your online store:

• Fewer missed deliveries.
  This is a win for both your customer and you. Your customers are in control of picking up their purchase – and can avoid that annoying “Sorry we missed you” card in their letterbox. It’s good for your brand, too, as it shows you care about the customer experience.
  
• More sales.
  Sure, Click and Collect might take a little effort to set up. But, once done, it should help boost sales and overall profit. You’ll get more loyal customers, more referrals, and the potential for more sales when customers collect their goods. A 2019 study by Doddle found that 85% of people make extra purchases when picking up their goods in-store. 
  
• Savings on shipping costs.
  Whether you shoulder the shipping cost or pass it on to your customers, Click and Collect helps eliminate this thorny issue.

Here’s how Click and Collect works

It’s easy to add ‘local pickup’ as a shipping and delivery option in your eCommerce platform (just check in with your provider if you need help). 

Once set up, your customer simply chooses the option while going through the check-out and picks the closest available location for delivery. You can generally offer three options for collection points:

• Your nearest store
• A different business that holds Click and Collect shipments (supermarket, post office)
• Designated parcel pick-up point or 24/7 locker 

When the order comes through at your end, you’d get it ready as per any other online order. Then, once fulfilled and waiting for collection, you’ll just need to send a text message to your customer to let them know it’s ready.

And here’s how SMS makes Click and Collect even better

Communication is a big part of Click and Collect. You need to let customers know when their parcel is ready for collection. Or, if any delays crop up, you need to notify them. 

Email alone doesn’t cut it here. Most people’s email inboxes are beyond cluttered, and they might miss the message from you that it’s time to pick up their order. If you gave them the choice, you’d probably find that customers prefer you to send them a quick SMS. 

It’s better for you, too. After all, SMS has a 98% open rate and 8x the response rate of email. What’s more, 90% of SMS messages are opened within 90 seconds. It gives you the reassurance that customers have got the message.

To make life even easier for you, we’ve prepared some SMS templates that you can easily adapt to suit your brand. These should give you an idea of the types of Click and Collect messages customers like to receive.

6 Click and Collect text message templates

Note: When you see [XXX] in a template, this is a custom parameter you can fill with personalised data from your customer database. Learn more.

1. Delivery date estimation

Message Type: SMS

Hi [NAME], thanks for your order. It should be ready on [DATE] from [LOCATION]. We’ll send you an email and SMS as soon as it is. Thanks again.

2. Shipping update

Message type: MMS

Update on your order
Hi [NAME], we’re so sorry but part of your order (#[ORDER]) has been delayed. We’ve sent you an email with further details, or you can call us on [PHONE NUMBER].

3. Order is ready for collection

Message type: MMS

Update on your order
Hi [FIRST NAME], your order [ORDER] is now ready for collection. For all the details: [URL]

Message type: Mobile Landing Page (MLP)

Hi [NAME], we’ve got these items ready for you:
[ITEM 1]
[ITEM 2]
[ITEM 3]
Look good to you? If so, please let us know when you’d like to pick them up. If something’s not right, please get in touch.
[BUTTON 1]
[BUTTON 2]

4. Out of stock alert

Message type: SMS Automation

Hi [NAME], unfortunately, we couldn’t locate some items in your order: [ORDER]. We can: (1) find a substitute or (2) refund you. Reply 1 or 2 to proceed.

5. Thanks for collecting

Message type: SMS

Hi [NAME], thanks for collecting your Order: [ORDER] from [COMPANY]. Have a great day.

6. Collection reminder

Message type: MMS

Hi [NAME], a friendly reminder that your order [ORDER] is ready to be collected from [ADDRESS]. Thanks.

Integrate SMS for seamless Click and Collect communications

It’s easy to integrate the MessageMedia SMS platform into your Shopify eCommerce store. To put the power of automation to work for all your Click and Collect messages to customers, learn about our Shopify integration. 

Not with Shopify? You can still use MessageMedia for your Click and Collect texts. Try it for free today.