Online grocery shopping went mainstream earlier in the pandemic, with click-and-collect services proving a particularly popular way for Australians to do their weekly shopping.

That habit has hung around, so retailers are now competing on speed and convenience, rolling out better services for online shoppers.

On Wednesday, for example, Coles announced plans to allow customers to pick up click-and-collect shopping just 60 minutes after ordering.

While change is afoot, don’t expect to see Coles or Woolies delivery drones landing in your front yard anytime soon.

Convenience

Click and collect offers all the convenience of online shopping with none of the hassles of shipping fees, missed deliveries or stolen packages.

And at a time when many households are struggling, it makes sense to save $10 on delivery by nipping down to the local supermarket to collect a pre-arranged order.

“What consumers want is convenience,” Gary Mortimer, professor of marketing and consumer behaviour at QUT, told The New Daily.

“Having someone pick their groceries and have them either delivered or get them ready for click and collect on the way home – that’s what shoppers want,” he said.

“We’re moving towards hyper-convenience and expedited delivery.”

Turns out Australians don’t miss navigating cramped shopping aisles with wonky-wheeled trolleys or queuing to use automated checkouts.

Online business is booming, with 10 cents in every dollar spent at supermarkets being spent online, Professor Mortimer said.

This has led to supermarkets launching expedited services and investing heavily in their online infrastructures and automated fulfilment capabilities.

This week Coles launched an ambitious program promising customers they will be able to collect their shopping within an hour of placing an online order.

Coles also opened its “next generation” of Melbourne supermarkets, showcasing the latest technology and digital integration across the store’s grocery and fresh produce.

The supermarket says the technology will enable team members to track customer arrivals and departures to reduce customer wait times.

Mum Jo Frost, with kids James and Alice at Coles Southland Click & Collect. Source: Coles

Woolies offers a “direct to boot” and pickup service, which allows customers to reserve a parking space or pickup time for up to one hour.

Its customers “embraced online shopping and the convenience it provides”, a Woolies spokesperson said.

“This includes free pickup or direct to boot option at every Woolworths supermarket (almost 700 stores have a direct to boot option).”

Dr Jason Pallant, retail researcher at Swinburne, told TND that one of the benefits of the click-and-collect model for retailers is that it still gets shoppers into bricks and mortar stores.

“We know from research that getting shoppers into stores can lead to additional purchases,” he said.

“Having somebody order online and then pick it up in-store is a way of encouraging them to explore other products, services or things that the brand can offer.”

Look to the future

While there’s a lot of excitement around fanciful delivery methods, such as drones, one overlooked area, according to experts, is the online point of sale.

Shopping expert at Finder, Mr Chris Jager, told TND that Australians will start seeing more sophisticated online stores with better options for shoppers.

He said the future will be all about the “online journey”, starting at the point of purchase.

“I think retailers will start making it a lot easier to get what you need on the online store via click-and-collect options,” he said.

“Filters so you can look at discounted items and options to let you shop via product category – I think retailers will start making those options a lot easier to interact with,” Mr Jager said.

Retailers have been toying with the idea of drone delivery services, but TND spoke to several experts, who all agreed we won’t see widespread use for some time.

“I think it’s an incredibly expensive exercise,” said Professor Mortimer.

“And then, of course, there’s the challenge of getting to homes near airports or high-rise developments … how do you get a drone to those locations?”

The latest retail data from the ABS shows that total online retailing sales were $3.526 billion in September, with food online sales accounting for $980 million.