As consumers look for quick and convenient ways to shop, the number of click-and-collect buyers in the US will rise to 150.9 million in 2024, representing 53.1% of the population, per our December 2022 forecast.

• US click-and-collect sales will grow 10.1% to reach $109.36 billion in 2024.
• Over three-quarters (78.7%) of those sales will come from grocery.

Outside of grocery, consumers are largely content to wait a couple of days for delivery, so click and collect won’t be growing its share of ecommerce sales anytime soon, remaining less than 9% of total retail ecommerce sales through 2026.

Breaking it down: While a growing portion of click-and-collect buyers are using in-store pickup, curbside demand is dropping.

• In-store pickup customers will represent 64.4% of total US click-and-collect buyers in 2024, compared with 47.6% of curbside customers, per our December 2022 forecast.
• The number of locker/kiosk pickup customers is also growing, reaching 38.3 million in 2024 (25.4% of total click-and-collect buyers).

Something extra: 44% of US click-and-collect buyers purchased something else when picking up their items, according to an October Insider Intelligence survey conducted by Bizrate Insights.

• 20% of respondents said they bought something at the register where they picked up their items.
• Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents said they actually shopped the rest of the store and paid at another checkout.

Winner, winner: Due to its expansive physical footprint, Walmart is the clear leader in click and collect, said our analyst Blake Droesch on an episode of the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

“When you look at what’s going to be driving digital grocery growth over the next couple of years, a lot of it is coming from sales growth and click and collect, not delivery,” he said. “[Walmart has the] largest customer base of physical store grocery shoppers. I just think that when it comes down to brass tacks, it’s that very simple advantage of just having a large customer base and a large brick-and-mortar footprint.”

But other retailers are trying to cash in on the surge in click-and-collect buyers.

• In August, Target expanded its curbside pickup partnership with Starbucks to over 1,700 stores to encourage customers to treat themselves when picking up purchases.
• Amazon, which lacks a large physical footprint, began offering customers $10 to pick up their purchases at Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, or Kohl’s locations earlier this year.
• Due to a third of its digital orders being fulfilled by stores, Ulta Beauty grew its store fulfillment network to 400 locations in Q2 2023, enhancing its click-and-collect options for customers.

The bottom line: Click and collect is growing, but it’s not even across the board. Retailers that want to boost click-and-collect sales need to pay attention to which consumers are interested in the service, what they’re buying, and where they’re shopping.

This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.