New ways of shopping online could be encouraging more people to actually visit Ballymena town centre and become part of our community. How? The Consumer Council recently shared this infographic which shows that people are beginning to use online click and collect services, meaning they buy online but pick up the goods from the shop. People are turning to click and collect because they aren’t happy with delivery charges and have had problems in the past. Click here to visit the Consumer Council website.

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Over a quarter of the people surveyed found the click and collect service a preferable option for when they choose to buy online. Savvy retailers have used this fact to drive up footfall in their physical stores with shops Waterstones, Tesco and lots of high street names opting for a click and collect or pick up point service.

It goes to show that, while online shopping my seem like a dream come true, nothing can rival a human interaction where someone places your goods straight into your hands – every single time. The Click and Collect service is slowly changing the way we shop and we hope that more people set down their computer and get back into our community to help keep local Ballymena shops open and the shutters up.