CollectPlus store at the University of Leeds proves popular amongst students with parcel volumes growing higher than the network average
London, UK - 29 September 2014: CollectPlus, the UK’s largest store-based parcel delivery and returns company, today announced the success of an initiative set up with the University of Leeds following the launch of Click&Collect+ and its returns service at the university’s on-campus convenience store, Essentials.
Located in the Students Union at the university, the store has seen a 35% month-on-month growth during term time* in the volume of parcels it has handled since it opened in January 2014, with an 85% uplift in May during the exam period. Click and collect in particular has proven popular amongst students with Essentials processing 8% more Click&Collect+ parcels than the average store in the CollectPlus network. With students now returning for the new academic year, Essentials is gearing up for another term of strong growth in the number of parcels going through its doors.
CollectPlus, which has a network of over 5,500 stores, offers an easy and convenient way for students who shop online to pick up purchases from retailers including ASOS, Amazon and Very.co.uk at a time that best suits them through its Click&Collect+ service. It is a trend that has been embraced by the students at the University of Leeds, who are choosing to click and collect between lectures instead of getting their online purchases sent to their student accommodation. Not only that, CollectPlus also works with over 260 retail brands to offer students a convenient, tracked returns service, making it easier for them to send unwanted purchases back to the retailer.
Following the opening of CollectPlus@Westfield and click and collect hubs at community shopping centres, The Mall Camberley and the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, the store at the University of Leeds is an example of another CollectPlus parcel pick up and drop off point established at a non-PayPoint location.
Catherine Woolfe, Marketing Director at CollectPlus, said: “Our partnership with the University of Leeds gives students a great way to collect and return goods simply and easily. With online shopping very popular amongst the student demographic who have grown up with the internet and expect convenience, there’s proven to be a huge appetite for click and collect and returns services on campus. As part of our expansion strategy, we are looking to find new types of locations that suit customers’ busy and variable lifestyles as a means of further improving the delivery experience for them.”
Essentials is a high footfall store with thousands of students passing through its doors every week, buying everyday items such as milk, bread, magazines and stationary. In joining the CollectPlus network, the store is now able to offer students a convenient way to collect and return their online shopping whilst they are on campus, including first thing in the morning before lectures or after a late night study session in the library, thanks to its 8.30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday opening hours, and 12pm to 9.30pm on Sundays.
Essentials store manager, Diane Harvey, added: “Many of the students who use the CollectPlus service are regular customers, so for them it’s easy to pick up a parcel while they are buying their basics. We’re also open every day, unlike most post offices so, since introducing CollectPlus’ services, we’ve seen many new faces, which is great. As well as the convenience offered by click and collect, the option to return items for free also appeals to students, who are often on tight budgets.”
It’s not just customers who benefit from these services. According to research by CollectPlus, almost two-thirds (64%) of customers who collect a parcel from a store on its network are visiting it for the first time, and while in store, 50% of them make an additional purchase.
The average click and collect customer spends £3.42 in store while collecting a parcel and 22% will spend more than £5. Over the course of a year, this adds up to an average of £2,712 extra revenue. Of the customers who use the CollectPlus service, 80% state that the visit has encouraged them to use the store again.
CollectPlus is a joint venture between PayPoint, the leading retail payment network, and the UK’s leading independent parcel carrier, Yodel.
*January – July 2014
ENDS
For further information, please contact the CollectPlus team at the Red Consultancy:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 0207 025 6500
CollectPlus scores 8.7/10 on TrustPilot, with 77.9% of customers giving CollectPlus 4/5 stars (as of 18.09.14).
ABOUT COLLECTPLUS
CollectPlus is the largest store-based delivery and returns service giving online shoppers the ability to collect and drop off parcels at their local store. 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 260 retail brands that CollectPlus provides returns solutions for, with nearly 100 added over the past year. Click&Collect+, which enables customers to order online and have their items delivered to their local CollectPlus store, is available from a rising number of retailers; from Amazon to Asda and House of Fraser to River Island. This complements the returns offer that CollectPlus provides to retailers, thereby offering a complete delivery and returns service.
With a network of over 5,500 stores open early ‘til late seven days a week; 90% 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.
CollectPlus is a joint venture between PayPoint, the leading retail payment network, and the UK’s leading independent parcel carrier, Yodel.
ABOUT PAYPOINT
PayPoint is an international leader in payment technologies, its solutions transforming payments for everyone from consumer and financial services companies to retailers, utilities, media, e-commerce, gaming and government clients.
PayPoint delivers payments and services by taking the complexity of multi-channel payments and translating it into convenient, simple, value-added solutions. It handles over £14 billion from 775 million transactions annually for more than 6,000 clients and merchants.
With the backing of 24/7 operations centres with dual site processing, PayPoint is widely recognised for its leadership in payment systems, smart technology and service.
Retail networks
The PayPoint retail network across the UK numbers over 27,200 local shops (including Co-op, Spar, McColls, Costcutter, Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express, One Stop, Asda, Londis and thousands of independents), where it processes energy meter pre-payments, bill payments, benefit payments, mobile phone top-ups, transport tickets, BBC TV licences, cash withdrawals and a range of other transactions. In Romania, the retail network numbers over 8,500 terminals in local shops, helping people to make cash bill payments, money transfers, road tax payments and mobile phone top-ups. In the Republic of Ireland, over 500 terminals in shops and credit unions process mobile top-ups and bill payments.
PayPoint’s ATM network numbers more than 3,600 ‘LINK’ branded machines across the UK, and 9,100 PayPoint terminals enable retailers to accept credit and debit cards.
Mobile and Online
PayPoint Mobile and Online (formerly trading as PayPoint.net, PayByPhone and Adaptis) handles over 135 million payments for parking, payments and consumer services. In major cities in the UK, Canada, USA, France, Switzerland and Australia, its parking solutions make it easy for people to pay for parking by mobile, as well as providing electronic parking permits, automatic number plate recognition systems for car parks and penalty charge notices.
PayPoint’s core online payments platform is linked to 16 major acquiring banks in the UK, Europe and North America, delivering secure credit and debit card payments for over 5,100 online merchants. Its suite of products ranges from transaction gateway to a bureau service, in addition to value-added services such as FraudGuard, an advanced service that mitigates the risk of fraud in card not present transactions.
ABOUT YODEL
• Yodel is the UK's leading independent parcel carrier
• The company handles over 145 million parcels every year
• It has a relationship with 85 per cent of the UK's top retailers
• Yodel is headquartered in Hatfield and has over 60 locations across the UK, including three central sorts and over 50 service centres
• Yodel offers a range of services to meet the needs of its clients and their customers:
• YodelDirect – Yodel’s door-to-door consumer parcel service, ideal for online marketplace sellers and SMEs
• Yodel Home and Yodel Business - two van-based networks with service centre based drivers
• Yodel Neighbourhood - a neighbourhood courier service offering extended delivery hours
• Yodel World - international service
In addition:
• Arrow XL - Through its sister company Yodel also offers a two man service for white goods and large items up to 120kg.