IKEA launches \'Click and Collect\' feature for contactless shopping

IKEA launches 'Click and Collect' feature for contactless shopping

The Click & Collect service is to ensure minimal contact between the staff and customers', when the customers arrive to collect the products from the store. Currently, this facility is only available Hyderabad

Sonal Khetarpal        Last Updated: May 25, 2020  | 14:02 IST
About 14 European countries, including Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France and Spain, have Click and Collect service in place since a few years

As shops open up and people venture outside home, albeit cautiously, retailers are coming up with innovative ways to ensure their customers can safely shop. Contactless delivery, sanitised stores, digital payments are some of the strategies coming to the fore.

In line with the flavour of the season, Swedish retailer IKEA is implementing Click and Collect feature in India so customers have an option to shop safely, said Kavitha Krishnarao, Country Commercial Head, IKEA India.

"Physical formal is a big part of overall retail business and for most of the retailers it is also where the challenge lies. It also means as we reopen there will be a reinvention on how we approach consumers in the physical store," says Krishnarao.

Customers can order the IKEA products on IKEA's website, pay online only and select the 'Click & Collect service' option when checking out. IKEA's delivery team will prepare their order for them to pick up from the Click & Collect collection station in the store's car parking area. The store team will notify the customer by text or email when they could come over to the store and collect it.

The Click & Collect service is to ensure minimal contact between the staff and customers', when the customers arrive to collect the products from the store. Currently, this facility is only available Hyderabad.

About 14 European countries, including Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France and Spain, have Click and Collect service in place since a few years. "We saw a lot of uptake for this service in Europe. Now we are bringing it to India," she said.

Krishnarao says that in addition to this, there will be a lot of digital innovation for customers who wish to shop in stores. "We are looking at digital enablement technologies but these will come into play as we begin to open the store."

While the retailer is finalising the number of people and its strategy to maintain social distancing in stores, it is also looking at a plethora of technological solutions to engage consumers digitally, especially to resolve customer queries related to products. Some of the innovations on the card are a QR code for every product which contains its details or a mobile app with additional product information. This will ensure safety of the store staff too. "Retailers in general will be exploring these innovations to build confidence in consumer to come back to stores," she says.

Following the government's guidelines, IKEA's Hyderabad store and its ecommerce portal are open. Last year, the retailer also stated online delivery in the states of Mumbai and Pune.