How to Set Up a Click & Collect Service

The UK Government has announced that England will enter into a four-week national lockdown, beginning on Thursday, November 5th. In what has come as a major blow to the retail sector, these new tighter restrictions involve the closure of "non-essential" shops for on-premises trading. 

However, in a much-needed boost for retailers, the Government confirmed yesterday that non-essential stores will be able to offer delivery and click & collect services throughout the lockdown period. This gives shops a way to safely satisfy demand and sustain operations during what is the busiest period of the year for the sector. 

The Click and Collect Model for Retailers

With an Epos Now Retail EPOS System, you’re able to operate a click and collect model for your shop without any additional integrations or apps. Thankfully, it’s all part of your point of sale system.

By implementing such a model, you can continue to keep your business running while minimising human contact. A click and collect solutions will allow customers to call ahead and place an order before their visit, meaning you can have their items ready for collection and payment when they arrive.

How Do I Get Started?

• Get your Inventory in Order - Make sure all of your products and stock levels are correct on your POS system, and have low stock alerts set up so you know when to reorder
• Promote your Click & Collect Service - Use a free website like Canva to create a graphic telling customers on social media exactly how to order. You can inform your customers of your new remote ordering service by using email marketing tools like MailChimp. 

How do I Set Up a Click and Collect Service?

It’s easy to hold orders on an Epos Now System, much like creating a tab for someone in a bar or restaurant. But first, you need to add the customer to your system when they call to place their order.

How to Add Customers:

• Step One - On your Epos Now front till, click “Customers”
• Step Two - Click “Add New Customer”
• Step Three - Input customer details (Name, Phone Number, Email Address & Address at the minimum)
• Step Four - Click “Add”

Congratulations! Your customer is now added to your retail POS system so you can take their order!

How to Take and Hold Orders:

• Step One - If the customer isn’t automatically selected, go into “Customers” and select the customer you’d like to take an order for
• Step Two - Add all of the products your customer orders, much like you would if you were processing an order there and then.
• Step Three - Press “hold” and it will go into “held” status and stock will subtract from your inventory
• Step Four - Collect and bag your customers’ shopping before they arrive
• Step Five - When the customer arrives, go into the “Orders tab”, click on the order and “resume”
• Step Six - Finish processing the order and take payment as you usually would!

If you would like to find out more about how to offer Click and Collect to your customers using your Epos Now System, get in touch today.