Online retail titan Amazon is planning an assault on Britain’s high street with a new “click and collect” service, it has been reported.

The group is understood to be hunting for high-profile sites across the UK to set up a network of stores allowing customers to buy online and pick up goods in-store, according to The Sunday Times.

It comes as a wave of cut-price retail outlets are coming onto the market after the collapse of major chains such as book shop Borders.

It is thought that Amazon – the world’s biggest online retailer – is keen to tap into the growing trend for consumers to forgo waiting for deliveries and pick-up at a time that suits them.

Postal services are increasingly being seen as the Achilles heel of online stores, particularly highlighted with the recent Royal Mail postal strikes.

A number of stores including Argos and John Lewis offer shoppers the option to collect in-store and Amazon is said to be looking at gaining a bricks and mortar presence to compete.

Its move to branch out from just selling small items such as CDs and books – which can fit in many post boxes – to larger items is also said to have made the need for an alternative collection service more pressing.

But some of the sites may reportedly have to be out of town due to concerns over parking.

Amazon has so far defied the economic slump that has hit many of its high street rivals. It posted a 33% rise in sales at its UK and international arm in the three months to September.

The sales growth in the international division outstripped the performance for the wider Amazon business, which grew revenues by 28% to 5.45 billion US dollars (£3.31 billion) in the quarter.

Press Association

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Tags: Assault, High Street