John Lewis has announced it plans to introduce a £2 surcharge on click and collect deliveries under the value of £30, having said it can’t afford to continue to offer the service for free.
The scheme, launched in 2008, sees six million orders collected from stores every year, compared to 350,000 a year when the scheme began.
The new charges are being introduced to help meet the cost of transporting smaller, individual items, which the retailer said are becoming overwhelming.
John Lewis MD Andy Street told The Guardian: “We are sure customers will understand why we are doing this. There is a huge logistical operation behind this system and quite frankly it’s unsustainable. We consider ourselves to be leaders and we want to take the lead on this.”
The news comes after Yodel executive chairman Dick Stead said operators should work more closely with retailers to manage delivery volumes in times of peak demand such as Christmas or Black Friday.
Speaking at the Mail and Express Delivery Show in London earlier this week, Stead said there would not be enough capacity in the industry to cope with peaks in demand if retailers offered free next-day delivery to all of their customers.
A survey of Yodel’s customers revealed 44% of people using the carrier would be happy to pay a premium for next day services.
