McArthurGlen Cheshire Oaks launches Dropit, focus now safety as well as convenience

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 10, 2020

‘Hands-free’ shopping options have taken on a new relevance in a world dominated by anti-pandemic measures and on Thursday, McArthurGlen said it has launched a partnership with pioneering app Dropit to offer its hands-free shopping service to visitors.

It’s being launched at one of the largest outlet malls in Europe, the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, with shoppers now able to use it to lighten their load while shopping and have their items delivered to their home or another address.

Dropit will collect shoppers’ bags from more than 100 partner stores within Cheshire Oaks, including Polo Ralph Lauren, Belstaff and Gap. All stores at the site will accept such bags, with a “Dropit ambassador” being notified when a bag has been dropped and then collecting and collating on behalf of the shopper. 

They can then choose to have bags delivered to a preferred location at a time convenient to them, with delivery to homes, hotels and workplaces nationwide. There’s also a same-day delivery option to addresses within The Wirral, Chester City Centre and Runcorn areas.

Retail locations are pulling out all the stops to encourage consumers to return to physical shopping and a service such as Dropit could boost this. It allows consumers to move around with being weighed down by bags, keeping their hands free for essentials such as sanitising when they enter or leave a store, and also minimises contact with staff within the stores.

The service has been used successfully by another outlet specialist, London Designer Outlet at Wembley Park, for some time. And while the focus pre-pandemic was all about convenience, it has stressed the safety element more recently and said that Dropit played a part in its strong bounce-back figures since non-essential stores reopened.

The Dropit app is free to download and McArthurGlen said the service is priced at £10 for hands-free shopping for collection on-site and £15 for hands-free shopping with nationwide delivery. Either option allows an unlimited number of bags to be dropped and delivered throughout the day. 

Insights captured by Dropit’s data analysts also report that consumers “feel safer and more comfortable visiting stores and enjoying dining and leisure facilities when they no longer have the hassle of carrying bags”.