eCommerce marketplace Wish has teamed up with the United Kingdom’s largest retail parcel network, Collect+, to simplify and accelerate the pick up, delivery and return of packages nationwide, a Wish spokesperson told PYMNTS via email, in a deal that will more than double the company’s roster of physical locations.
The move marks the latest extension of the ecommerce site’s Wish Local program and comes at a time when the California-based retailer is looking to streamline and focus its operations to compete against larger rivals offering shorter and shorter delivery time frames.
“This latest expansion of our Wish Local program in the UK, enables us to give our customers increased flexibility and choice,” Wish Europe Director of Logistics Michael Gnaedinger said in an email to PYMNTS. “They benefit not only from increased delivery options but also savings on shipping fees,’’ he added, noting that the pickup partnership could expand nationally if the initial rollout is successful.
Last month, new Wish.com CEO Vijay Talwar told PYMNTS that he expected the current macroeconomic environment, including rampant inflation and increasingly cash-strapped consumers, to serve as a tailwind for the 12-year-old eCommerce marketplace that specializes in low-priced goods typically costing less than $10.
Read more: Wish.com CEO Says Our Customers ‘Forget What They Bought,’ Enjoy the Surprise
Where dollar stores aim to deliver instant gratification to their customers, Wish.com’s challenge is to meet the same need, only with a two-to-three-week shipping delay.
“We have to focus on what makes us unique,” Talwar said at the time. “There’s a lot of things that are similar [to Wish.com] but nothing that’s exactly the same.”
Unlike most of its retail rivals, Wish has never offered free shipping, but Talwar said the company was actively working to reduce that timeframe to 15 to 18 days from 21.
For its part, Collect+ was acquired by the UK’s PayPoint group in April 2020, based on what was seen as “substantial opportunity for further expansion.”
For all PYMNTS retail and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) coverage, subscribe to the daily Retail and EMEA Newsletters.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More