Morrisons is testing a new way of handling online grocery collection that could have consequences well beyond faster customer pick-up.
At its Skipton store in North Yorkshire, the supermarket has introduced temperature-controlled Click & Collect lockers capable of holding ambient, chilled and frozen groceries. Customers receive a six-digit code, collect their shopping from the lockers and no longer need to wait for a colleague to bring the order to their car. The trial also extends Click & Collect opening hours by two hours a day.
On the surface, this looks like another convenience upgrade. But the more important development may be what happens behind the locker.
Traditional supermarket Click & Collect requires a colleague to recognise the customer’s arrival, retrieve the order and take it to the collection bay. Morrisons’ new system moves much of that process away from the final customer interaction. Orders can be loaded into the lockers before the shopper arrives, while integrated communication technology allows customers to contact store colleagues if they need assistance.
That changes the economics of collection.
If shoppers can collect orders independently, supermarkets could potentially handle more collections without increasing the number of colleagues dedicated to handing orders to customers. More collection slots can also be created without simply adding more vehicles waiting outside the store.
ISN believes this is where the Morrisons trial becomes particularly interesting.
The grocery industry has spent years automating warehouses and improving online order picking. The last few metres — getting the completed order into the customer’s hands — have often remained surprisingly labour intensive.
The locker could be the missing link.
It also brings another question. If this model proves successful, will supermarkets continue to regard Click & Collect as a service attached to the store, or start treating it as a semi-automated fulfilment channel in its own right?
Morrisons has not announced a wider rollout from the Skipton trial. But if customers adopt the system and the operational savings are demonstrated, other retailers will have a reason to watch closely.
The supermarket of the future may not simply have fewer checkout queues. It could also have fewer reasons for the customer to interact with the store at all.
