CollectPlus, the innovative parcel delivery and returns company, today announces the 5,000th parcel store in its nationwide network of convenience shops, supermarkets and garages.  The milestone convenience store is the Hanging Hill Lane Costcutter, in Brentwood, Essex. The shop is already seeing a number of new customers as a result of offering the CollectPlus service, a popular option for convenience stores which are all already part of the PayPoint network.  

By joining the CollectPlus network a participating store can expect on average a £1,300 increase in revenue per annum. This is due to customers making additional purchases when collecting or dropping off parcels.[1] As well as the direct increase in revenue, 80% of consumers state that the CollectPlus service has encouraged them to re-visit a convenience store for other purchases, highlighting the value of CollectPlus to local stores.

The rapid growth of CollectPlus means that 87% of the UK’s online shopping population are now within a mile of a CollectPlus shop in urban areas, whilst 88% are within five miles in rural areas. CollectPlus uses PayPoint technology to power its parcel service, meaning that it has much more room for network expansion as PayPoint works with over 24,000 convenience retailers in the UK. The CollectPlus network has been strategically developed to incorporate the best local stores, which are close to where its customers live and work.

With the company now processing parcels at a run rate of 7 million a year, the addition of the 5,000th store marks a rapid rate of expansion from just a handful of stores three years ago. Whilst the CollectPlus delivery network continues to grow, the company maintains a close and supportive relationship with convenience retailers throughout the country.

Mark Lewis, CEO of CollectPlus, says: “The strength of our service is its convenience and this has only increased as the CollectPlus network of stores has grown so rapidly. CollectPlus has responded to the needs of consumers by offering delivery and returns services that are seamless and fit in with their day to day lives, which ultimately leads to an increase in revenue and repeat business for convenience stores. We are committed to a continued expansion of the network, enabling even more local businesses to reap the benefits of providing our innovative service.”

Visvalingam Manivannan, owner of the 5,000th CollectPlus store, Hanging Hill Lane Costcutter in Brentwood, Essex comments: “It is very exciting to be the 5,000th store in the CollectPlus network. We’re delighted to be offering the local community a parcel service that meets the needs of their busy lives. As we provide free parking, using CollectPlus services here couldn’t be easier or more convenient for our customers. The service also provides a great opportunity for us to attract more customers and grow as a business here in Brentwood.”

Since the firm’s launch in 2009, CollectPlus has provided customers with a seamless, convenient and cost effective online retail delivery experience and has been of considerable benefit to retailers as well as online shoppers.

With the increasing popularity of online marketplaces, and CollectPlus’ recent integration into the eBay site, CollectPlus’ simple pricing structure has just one size and three weight categories. This allows senders to quickly identify how much it will cost to send a parcel. Starting at a highly competitive £3.99 including VAT for Jiffy Bags up to 2kg, it is almost 25% less than the cost (£5.30) of sending a parcel of the same weight with the Post Office.

Ends

For further information, please contact the CollectPlus team at the Red Consultancy:

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 0207 025 6500

Notes to editors – CollectPlus’ commitment to convenience stores

In February 2011, CollectPlus launched a consumer parcel service, allowing anyone to buy postage for their parcel on the CollectPlus website, and drop it off at their local shop for it to be delivered direct to the recipient’s address.

ABOUT COLLECTPLUS

CollectPlus is a delivery and returns service giving online shoppers’ the choice to collect and drop off parcels at local convenience stores. Founded in 2009, it addresses 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 160 retail brands that CollectPlus provides returns solutions for, with nearly 100 added over the past year. Delivery to local store, Click&CollectPlus, is provided to a rising number of retailers from Amazon to House of Fraser and ASOS to Very.co.uk. This complements the returns offer that CollectPlus provides to retailers, offering a complete delivery and returns service.

With a network of over 5,000 shops open early ‘till late seven days a week; 87% of the UK population already live within a mile of a CollectPlus shop in urban areas and 88% within five miles in rural areas. The store network has grown by over a quarter in the last 12 months and continues to expand.

In 2011, CollectPlus was named ‘Third Party Logistics Supplier of the Year’ at the Retail Week Supply Chain awards; ‘Innovative Delivery Service’ at IMRG’s eCommerce Excellence Awards; and has been highly commended by Retail Systems for ‘Supply Chain Solution of the Year’. 

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

ABOUT PAYPOINT
PayPoint is a leading international provider of convenient payments and value added services to major consumer service organisations in the utility, housing, water, telecoms, media, financial services, transport, retail, e-commerce, gaming and public sectors.

PayPoint delivers payments and services through a uniquely strong combination of local shops, internet and mobile distribution channels and handles over £12 billion from over 650 million transactions annually for more than 6,000 clients and merchants.

PayPoint is widely recognised for its leadership in payment systems, smart technology and consumer service.

Retail networks
The PayPoint branded retail network across the UK numbers over 24,000 local shops (including Co-op, Spar, McColls, Costcutter, Sainsbury’s Local, One Stop, Asda, Londis and thousands of independents), where it processes energy meter pre-payments, cash bill payments, mobile phone top-ups, transport tickets, BBC TV licences and a wide variety of other payment types. In Romania, the branded retail network numbers over 6,800 terminals located in local shops, processing cash bill payments for utilities 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.

Internet
PayPoint.net is an internet payment service provider linking into 16 major acquiring banks in the UK, Europe and North America to deliver secure online credit and debit card payments for over 5,700 web merchants. It offers a comprehensive set of products ranging from a bureau service to a transaction gateway, and FraudGuard, an advanced service to mitigate the risk of fraud.

Mobile payments
PayByPhone is a leading international provider of services to parking authorities allowing consumers to use their mobile phones to pay for their parking by credit or debit card.  It has contracts in the UK, France, Canada and the USA.

ABOUT YODEL

Home Delivery Network Ltd on 1 March 2010 purchased through its subsidiary company, Parcelpoint Ltd, the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express (UK) Ltd and rebranded as Yodel in May 2010. The company delivers more than 150 million parcels per year with annual revenues of £535 million and is the second-largest parcel delivery business in the UK after the Post Office.

Yodel operates from a national network of sort and service centres and has a fleet of over 5,000 vans. 

The company is headquartered in Hatfield.