Although many industry experts predicted that the rise of click and collect would help retailers rekindle the concept of impulse buys, a new study from YouGov has confirmed this for the first time.

Thousands of adults from across Europe were questioned as part of the study, with 24 per cent of respondents stating that if they ordered an item via safe shopping online and chose to pick it up in-store, they would often make an additional purchase once at the retailer’s real world location.

This shows that click and collect is establishing a symbiotic relationship between online and in-store retail, enabling retailers to upsell to customers and bring the best of both worlds to the table in terms of shopping experience.

Unsurprisingly, it was the British consumers involved in the survey that showed the biggest support for click and collect delivery, with 54 per cent saying they had used this type of service at some point in the last year. This compares with a 42 per cent European average, while being much higher than the 28 per cent of German consumers who prefer to pick up items in-store.

Analysts also asked consumers about their smartphone habits in relation to safe shopping online, with 56 per cent of those questioned confirming that they often used their handsets while on the high street to compare prices, look up product information and even check out reviews, before committing to a purchase in person.

Visitor numbers to bricks and mortar outlets across the UK have been declining consistently in the wake of the e-commerce revolution. But this study supports the idea that these two markets can co-exist and support one another, leading to increased sales rather than resulting in persistent problems for traditional parts of the retail sector.