Two of Britain’s high-street retail giants have announced signficiant expansions into the online commerce space.
Discount retailer Poundland will launch an ecommerce site later this year.
Chief executive Jim McCarthy said the site would focus on successful niche areas already experienced by the company, such as children’s parties and ‘Secret Santa’ gifts. The site is set to launch in the autumn, ahead of the two key periods of Halloween and Christmas.
The news came as the company announced a 23.5% rise in annual profits, and follows its expansion into continental Europe with the opening of its first store in Spain last week.
Alongside Poundland’s news, fellow high-street retailer Argos announced a major new partnership with online marketplace eBay.
From September, shoppers will be able to pick up their eBay purchases at Argos stores across the country as the two companies announced an expansion of their ‘click-and-collect’ partnership to 650 of Argos’ 730 stores.
The expansion follows an "incredibly popular" trial run at 150 Argos stores, which saw click-and-collect grow to now account for almost a third of Argos’ own sales, with one in five made through a mobile device.
eBay customers will now see "click and collect at Argos" as a delivery option at check-out, with their selected branch passed to the seller as if it were their home address.
Sellers can post to other branches and have them sent internally, and may be able to drop them off in person at their local store. Packages are kept for seven days.
"This partnership with Argos now gives tens of thousands of sellers the chance to capitalise on click-and-collect – even with no high street presence of their own," said Tanya Lawler, eBay’s UK vice-president.
