On-campus parcel collection and returns prove a hit amongst student community

London, UK - 6 October 2014: University of Leeds students are taking advantage of an easy and convenient way to shop online following the university’s on-campus convenience store, Essentials, joining the nationwide network of stores that offer CollectPlus services, making it easier than ever for them to collect and return purchases they make online.

CollectPlus, which has a network of over 5,500 stores, offers a convenient way for students to pick their online shopping up through its Click&Collect+ service, when they buy from retailers including ASOS, Amazon and Very.co.uk. In joining the CollectPlus network, Essentials, which is located in the Students Union, is able to offer students a way to collect their purchases between lectures instead of having them sent to their student accommodation where they run the risk of the parcels getting lost or picked up by someone else.

Not only that, CollectPlus also works with over 260 retail brands to offer students a convenient, tracked returns service, making it easier and safer for them to send unwanted purchases back to the retailer. Whether it’s first thing in the morning before lectures start or after a late night study session in the library, thanks to Essentials’ 8.30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday opening hours, and 12pm to 9.30pm on Sundays, students can drop off their parcels on-campus rather than having to go out of their way to a depot or Post Office.

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.

Essentials store manager, Diane Harvey, said: “More often than not students are on campus – whether that’s in class, at the library, in the gym - or at the pub! They’re seldom at home, and when they are, they’re often studying and don’t want to be disturbed. In offering the CollectPlus service, we’re enabling students to collect or return their online shopping whenever they’re on campus. As well as the convenience offered by click and collect, the option to return items for free also appeals to students given most of them are living on a budget. Encouragingly, since introducing the CollectPlus service, we’ve seen some new faces at the store – which is great.”

For local convenience stores, there are significant benefits to offering the CollectPlus service. Almost two-thirds (64%) of CollectPlus customers dropping off or collecting a parcel are visiting the store for the first time and half buy other products at the store.

Catherine Woolfe, Marketing Director at CollectPlus, added: “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. At CollectPlus, we are always looking to find new locations that suit customers’ busy and variable lifestyles as a means of further improving the delivery experience for them.”

CollectPlus is a joint venture between PayPoint, the leading retail payment network, and the UK’s leading independent parcel carrier, Yodel.

-Ends-

*January – July 2014

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.