Home deliveries sent to your local
Home deliveries sent to your local
Home-delivery customers will be able to pick up goods from their local pub under a scheme being hatched by Bass Leisure Retail and Delivery Networks, an online express delivery aggregator. A service called Pickup@pub is being tested at 90 London pubs, and if successful will be rolled out nationwide to around 2,000 Bass pubs.
The scheme was devised by Delivery Networks to enhance the range of delivery services it offers to e-tailers, but we understand Bass was already considering a similar initiative. It echoes those of the various existing pick-up point services based on convenience stores, but has the potential to harness the resources of a much wider network of outlets under single ownership. It also provides an inherent guarantee that the outlet will be open after normal working hours.
The scheme links the notion of collecting goods squarely with leisure rather than the functionality of shopping an aspect on which it capitalises by offering users a 50p discount on the price of a drink in the pub.
The fee for using the service is only £1, which is divided between Bass and Delivery Networks. The revenue split is not known, but Bass seems to see the main benefit as the increased footfall generated by the scheme.
Goods will be held in a secure, locked area of the pub, and will be covered by insurance to a value of £150. This puts an implied limit on the type of goods handled; the company says it is thinking books, CDs and clothing, not electrical or household goods or furniture.
Consumers will be expected to offer clear proof of identity when collecting, and those wanting friends or relatives to make the pickup will have to specify this at the time of ordering.
Physical delivery to the pubs will be handled by a range of up to ten nationally-known parcels carriers who already have relationships with Delivery Networks. These include Amtrak, ANC and TNT.
Initially the service will be limited to 21 participating online retailers, who include Freeserve, FSAuctions, eBay UK and Clearly Business (a business portal owned by Freeserve and Barclays Bank). All are existing customers of Delivery Networks. The London trial will run for just two months, after which a decision will be taken on a national roll-out.
