Asda is looking to step up its third-party click & collect service with faster turnaround times and more advanced technology, Asda ToYou client relationships manager Karen Gibson has revealed.
Customers were demanding more and more from the ToYou service, which offers in-store collection of brands including Missguided, Asos and Decathalon, Gibson told the Internet Retailing Expo in Birmingham yesterday.
Gibson revealed Asda was keen to roll out same-day collection on more urgent items and implement instant refunds to meet the demand for speed.
“There’s that ‘I want it now’ culture,” she told the conference. “When you dig deeper, customers don’t want everything now but they do want some things now, for example high-value items such as smartphones. So how do we think about how we stage the network so we can give access to some items on the same day?”
Instant refunds on returns would remove another barrier to online shopping, Gibson added. “One thing that stops customers buying things online is they’re worried about getting that refund. ‘Will I get my refund and when will I get my refund?’” she said. “We’re looking at how we can make instant refunds accessible for everybody and short circuit some of the treacle in that process.”
Asda is looking into technology that would alert the click & collect desk when customers arrive in the store car park, Gibson added. Smartphone wallets could send notifications to the retailer, Gibson suggested, which should cut down waiting times.
Asda ToYou launched in 2015, initially for collection of own-brand items. It has since expanded to include 15 external retail partners.
No comments yet