Customers angry as Tesco Direct charges for 'click and collect'

Tesco Direct has emailed its customers, saying that from 1 February it will charge £2 for 'click and collect' services on items costing less than £30. It may well signal a trend that is set to spread far further, and customers are not happy.

At the moment, when ordering online from Tesco Direct, shoppers can simply choose 'click and collect', and save themselves a delivery charge. The service is popular among bargain-hunters, and those who want to be able to pick up at a time that suits them.

From 1 February, that option is going to get more costly. Tesco said it had introduced the charge to make the service sustainable, because at the moment it isn't able to cover the cost of getting the items to stores. It already charges £4 for 'click and collect' on grocery shopping worth up to £40.

The trend

It's not the first to make the move. John Lewis also charges £2 for 'click and collect' orders of under £30 picked up in a branch of John Lewis or Waitrose. The move was introduced back in July and seems to have worked in the company's favour. It said over Christmas that 'click and collect' had grown 16% and now accounted for half of all online orders. It added that shoppers were spending more per 'click and collect' order - possibly to avoid having to pay the delivery charge.
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It's unlikely to be the last to introduce charges either. All the major retailers face a cost every time a customer selects for an item to be delivered to a store, and as click and collect grows, that cost is eating into their profits. The positive experience of John Lewis will have allayed many firms' fears about bringing in a charge, and the fact that Tesco has followed suit will certainly encourage other retailers to consider it.

Anger

However, customers have not been impressed with the announcement from Tesco. Some have been confused as to how this could be justified. One posted on the Tesco Facebook page: "Exactly where are you delivering too if I'm paying for the pleasure of collecting?"

Another wrote: "I'd rather take a chance of items being in the stores, or buy from somewhere else, but will not pay for something to be delivered to a store, when trucks will be offloading anyway!! What's to pay for - a little bag & a label?? Two quid? On yer bike Tesco!!"

Others pointed out that if it wasn't going to save them a delivery charge, the service was redundant. One tweeted: "Tesco going to charge £2 for click and collect, no point in doing it then in my opinion..."

And several said they planned to vote with their feet. One Tweeted simply: "Oh ok.... Amazon it is then". Another posted to the Tesco Facebook page: "Well that's me not ordering anymore, which as another side effect won't get me into your store (it's not the closest to our home) which means you lose the whole customer. Not very smart marketing to be honest." Another agreed: "I only really shop in Tesco if I am collecting a Tesco direct order. Now you are charging for that I doubt I'll be shopping in Tesco again! Ah well."