Digital-native companies are increasingly turning to bricks-and-mortar stores to help cater for customers’ needs, and internet juggernaut eBay is continuing this trend with the news that it’s expanding its click-and-collect service with UK high street retailer Argos.
We first reported on this tie-up last September, though the initial trial phase was only with 50 eBay sellers and 150 Argos stores. Now eBay says it hopes to expand this to 65,000 sellers by the end of 2014, rising to 80,000 by 2015. Argos will make 650 of its stores available for the click-and-collect service.
This move mimics one already offered by fellow e-commerce titan Amazon, which offers lockers in select locations around the country. With eBay, buyers simply choose the ‘Click and Collect at Argos’ delivery option at the virtual checkout, and choose their nearest store.
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Though the plan is to expand significantly this year, for now the pilot has really just been expanded to a few hundred more sellers. In terms of sellers enrolling in the programe, when it starts truly opening up this summer, eligible merchants will be opted-in automatically, though eBay will be issuing further communications to sellers around this in due course.
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