Trading through COVID-19

How to get started with CLICK & COLLECT

Brought to you by DigitalDunLaoghaire.ie

Supported by Bank of Ireland and DLR CoCo

In this challenging time for the small business community of our town we felt we should try and help out with a simple guide to how local retail/food businesses can continue to serve their customers through online means such as Click & Collect. 

What is Click & Collect and why do it?

Essentially Click & Collect is where a customer orders online and then collect from the store. During the restrictions of COVID-19 offering your customers a Click & Collect option helps continue your service to them and stay connected. Other advantages of Click & Collect include:

• 39.2% of customers who used click & collect services bought something else from a store when they went to collect their item therefore retailers should be identifying relevant products and services that can be sold alongside collection points to complement original orders.
• According to a February 2019 report from iVend RetailConsidered the most valuable aspect of the retail shopping experience for more than four in 10 consumers.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Click & Collect

Here is a short summary of how to set yourself up for success, what is most critical about Click & Collect is that it meets customer expectations.

DO

• Observe all the HSE guidelines on physical distancing
• Tell customers if the service is free of charge
• Provide the ability to pay online in advance
• Be able to make the order available for collection next day (or within 2 hours if possible)
• Clear communication about when the order is ready to collect and opening hours for collection points e.g. SMS to customer when ready to collect with this info
• Make clear how it’s “safe” during the outbreak e.g. all involved has committed to XYZ practices to reduce virus spread risk
• Ensure legal obligations are met in relation to online selling of any restricted products
• Have a clear FAQs for the process
• Promote it in store and across your platforms

DON’T

• Don’t sell if you don’t have it  – retailers need accurate, real time stock availability in the system (stick to using in store inventory)
• Don’t keep the customer waiting – Ensure there is no wait time once customers get to your store, ensure their order is packed ready go with clear signage on the outside of your premises on the process you are observing for physical distancing. 

How can you get started?

Firstly we recommend speaking to neighbouring businesses that have implemented Click & Collect to learn from their experience.

Choose a domain name and get your website up

If you are starting from scratch the IE Domain Registry have some excellent guides to help small businesses in this regard:

• A Guide for SMEs: Choosing a domain name
• A Guide for SMEs: How to get an accurate website quote

Also there are grants available from DLR LEO to small businesses to help pay for your new website – Trading Online Vouchers

Get started with Click & Collect

Local company ClickandCollection.com have created an easy to use and cost-efficient CLICK & COLLECTION solution for bricks and mortar small businesses who are not ‘tech’ obsessed.  This allows them to concentrate on what they do best while taking online payments, automate their new workflow, automatic management customer Qs through time slot allocation. Their focus is on a quick and simple solution, that businesses can implement quickly to continue trading at this time.

Commercially available ecommerce and ecommerce enabled platforms that can help you provide this service to your customers include:

• Shopify
• Facebook
• BigCommerce
• Squarespace.
• Volusion.
• 3dcart.
• Big Cartel.
• CoreCommerce.
• WooCommerce.
• PrestaShop.

How to let your Customers know

At Digital Dún Laoghaire we encourage all local businesses to use the free Google Business listing service which we feature on DunLaoghaireTown.ie in our directory of local business. Even if you already have a website the quickest way to let your customers know if you are offering the Click and Collect service is to enter this in your Google Business page entry.

It is also important to let you customers konw if you have set special opening hours or closed temporarily on your Google business listing.

You can also post your Click & Collect offering on social media and tas us @DunLaoghaireTn (Twitter) and we will reTweet it.

#InItTogether – How our town’s business community can work together

While we are in this period of restrictions physical distancing is essential however there are more ways to connect with your neighbouring businesses than ever digitally, why not seek to connect with nearby businesses and increase your impact by working together.

Ideas for collaboration when the current restrictions on movement are relaxed

• Can you reach out to neighbouring businesses that could learn from how you launched click and collect in your business?
• Collaboration across stores to provide more hours of collect coverage – Can you seek to align your collection hours with nearby businesses to save customers multiple trips to town?
• Can you work with local businesses to use your digital channels to cross promote each others offerings/Click & Collect hours etc?

Helping your business respond to COVID-19

Local Enterprise Offices can provide vouchers to businesses to assist in preparing in the event of any business continuity issues arising.

DLR LEO supports include:

• Assistance to help with business continuity and preparedness Discover more
• Find out what measures are in place to help employers and employees  Discover more

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