John Lewis to offer free returns through CollectPlus
John Lewis is to offer its customers the option of returning online fashion purchases through convenience stores, newsagents and petrol stations after signing a deal with store-based parcel service CollectPlus.
With over 5,000 stores in the CollectPlus network, John Lewis said the free service will make it easier for customers to return clothes, shoes and fashion accessories.
From early autumn 2013, John Lewis will also trial a ‘Click&Collect+’ service from CollectPlus in Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of South West England. This will give customers the ability to pick up their John Lewis online purchases from their local CollectPlus parcel store. The service will cost £3 and will typically take three days to fulfil.
The announcement follows a successful roll-out of John Lewis’ ‘click and collect’ service, to 234 collection points within its department stores, ‘at homes’ shops, and Waitrose branches.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Karen Dracou, head of omnichannel development at John Lewis, said: “Orders using Click & Collect have nearly doubled over the past year, and accounted for an impressive 35% of online sales over the Christmas period, so we know that customers are looking for ever-more convenient ways of shopping with us.
“By partnering with CollectPlus, we can extend our existing reach of John Lewis and Waitrose collection points to a wider geographical base, providing an even more convenient way for our customers to shop.”
Neil Ashworth, CEO of CollectPlus, added: “The extended opening hours associated with all CollectPlus stores allow customers to drop off or return items outside of the traditional trading day.
“With this in mind, the CollectPlus service will fit perfectly around the busy lives of John Lewis customers, making it easy for customers to fit collecting and returning purchases into the rest of their day.”
