Pick up your online shopping at the train station

Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 09:52 by Graham Miller

A new scheme is about to get underway to allow British consumers to order products online and then pick them up at their local train station.

This represents the emergence of a new form of click & collect solution, which has come about as a result of Network Rail partnering with a gaggle of major retailers, including clothing outlets like New Look and ASOS.

In the past, people across the country have had to put up with the fact that when ordering something online, getting home delivery may mean having to stay in to make sure that you can sign for the item when it arrives.

If you are not in to open the door to the delivery person, this usually means you will have to take a trip to the local sorting office, delaying the gratification that comes with safe shopping online.

However, the new Doddle pickup stations, which are being rolled out to 300 different train stations in the UK this year, will change the way that deliveries are handled.

People can head out on their morning commute, then when they return in the evening, they can simply collect whatever item they ordered online from a locker at their local station.

This should simplify the distribution process and also ensure that you can get access to a delivery on any day of the week, even if you are not going to be in the house.

Thirty million people in the UK use click & collect services already and so making the transition to harnessing Doddle will be uncomplicated. And train stations could also generate a lot more foot traffic as a result, so there are beneficiaries across the board, as soon as this scheme is up and running.