As more retailers begin to report on their performance in the run up to the festive season last year, it is becoming increasingly obvious that click and collect has become a hugely influential delivery option for high street outlets that offer shopping online.

Internet Retailing reports that John Lewis fulfilled 52 per cent of all e-commerce orders placed via its website through click and collect delivery, representing a 14.5 per cent annual increase. Almost a fifth of these orders were delivered to Waitrose stores for collection, providing the firm with coverage in more parts of the country.

Major retail group Shop Direct showed similar click and collect growth, although in this case around 25 per cent of orders were collected from dedicated collection lockers rather than from within specific stores.

The CollectPlus system has been impactful within this segment of the market, making it easier for consumers to buy items online and then choose to collect them locally when they have enough time to do so. The days of having to wait at home for a delivery person to arrive have come to an end thanks to this approach.

Furthermore, the rise of click and collect lockers means that even retailers which do not operate out of real world stores can still offer this type of delivery option to customers.

Of course, one of the advantages that high street retailers have over their online-only counterparts is the ability to provide same day collection for items ordered online, so long as they are available in-stock.

From a consumer perspective, click and collect is also appealing since it gives customers the option to actually open up the item they have ordered and see whether it fits the bill before they accept it, lessening the likelihood of returns.