Online retail major Flipkart has introduced 20 'experience zones' in 10 cities and aims to open 100 centres across the country by March. The collection centres will facilitate online customers to picj up their orders at their convenience.
The centres also suffice the e-commerce giant's strategy to expand itself in small towns and villages that can only serviced by these facilities. It also solves the issue of unavailability of customers during product deliveries, which ends up in a loop process that costs the company and its merchants. They could also eliminate last mile delivery costs, which account for about 28 per cent of the total transport cost. They will introduce value added services at the stops, including spot trials, returns, cash on return and open box deliveries.
“We believe this model is a resolution to customer unavailability issues, as it offers consumers a choice to adjust the delivery time and location according to their convenience,” said Neeraj Aggarwal, senior director of delivery operations at Flipkart. “It also provides a solution to restrictions for ecommerce entry into tech parks, gated communities, and universities.”
This is not the first time an e-commerce initiated customer pick ups for online orders. Amazon launched its 'Amazon Locker' in 2011 and has thousands of pick up points across Canada.
