Netherlands online retailer offers same-day collection service

Netherlands online retailer Bol.com has announced that customers who buy products on its website before 12:00 noon on weekdays will be able to pick up their packages at Albert Heijn stores later on the same day. The new service, announced today (23 June), is called “Vandaag Ophalen” (loosely translated as Pick-up Today).

Bol.com and Albert Heijn, the biggest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, are both owned by the Ahold group.

Michel Schaffer, marketing manager at Bol.com, was quoted as saying: “Within the ecommerce sphere, few consumers use same day delivery, because they are often not willing to pay for the high delivery costs. While we were developing ‘Vandaag Ophalen’ we’ve put low costs as our main focus.

“By combining the delivery of packages with a daily habit – namely doing groceries – we’ve managed to make the service both affordable and easy. This way consumers can visit one store for all of their purchases during one moment of the day.”