House of Fraser to launch trial 'buy and collect' stores

The stores will open in Liverpool and Aberdeen, cities that currently have no House of Fraser branches but receive a high volume of online orders, and are designed to serve as collection hubs for online orders.

The stores will have a customer-service area and changing rooms where customers can see if their items fit, receive an immediate refund, or order a different size.

The news comes after the retailer announced its online operation had delivered sales growth of 107.1% in the six months to 30 July.

John King, House of Fraser chief executive, is expecting online sales to exceed £100m this year, which will represent a doubling of sales compared to the previous year.

Other retailers are rolling out similar "buy and collect" services.

Tesco head Philip Clarke has said Tesco will double its "click and collect" stores by the end of the year, while online retailer Amazon is launching a "click and collect" service at shopping centres around the country.

In July, closer rival John Lewis announced plans for a new, smaller store format that would not hold its full lines, but would "maximise the opportunity for online shopping".

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk