LONDON - Saturday, July 5th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

    Click & Collect at Argos: from successful 150 store trial with 50 eBay sellers to about 650 stores nationally and 80,000 eBay sellers
    Partnership brings even more convenience, speed and choice for shoppers – giving sellers opportunity to offer Click & Collect

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- eBay and Argos today announced that they have entered an agreement to extend their offering of Click & Collect services via Argos stores. This extension will enable shoppers to select products from a much wider range of eBay sellers for collection from about 650 Argos stores.

The Click & Collect partnership commenced in September 2013 with 50 eBay sellers offering a selected range of products for collection in 150 Argos stores. The trial service proved successful operationally and incredibly popular with customers. A clear majority of those who have used the service and other click & collect services rate eBay’s Click & Collect at Argos as one of the best available.

It is anticipated that by the end of 2014 around 65,000 eBay sellers will offer items for collection at Argos, rising to around 80,000 in 2015. Argos will make the Click & Collect service available in about 650 of its stores.

The shopper experience couldn’t be simpler: buyers simply choose ‘Click and Collect at Argos’ as the delivery option in their eBay checkout and select their most convenient Argos store. Buyers receive a message when their item is ready for collection in their selected Argos store and proceed to a dedicated collection point in the store for fast and friendly service. Eligible sellers will be enrolled in the service and simply need to prepare orders for despatch as normal with eBay’s technology taking care of the rest.

Tanya Lawler, UK Vice President, eBay, said: “Retail has changed and shoppers are in the driving seat like never before. They want to shop anytime, anywhere, on any device and British shoppers love to Click & Collect. It’s a service being rapidly adopted by larger retailers and this partnership with Argos now gives tens of thousands of sellers the chance to capitalise on Click & Collect, even if they have no high street presence of their own.”

David Robinson, Chief Operating Officer, Argos, said:

“I’m delighted the operational trial in a number of Argos stores around the UK has been successful. The next stage in the agreement is to have more sellers, more stores and more volume to assess how we can scale this partnership for the benefit of consumers, Argos and eBay. Fulfilment is the next retail battleground and Argos’ unique model is well placed to leverage this.”

Notes to Editors

About the Click & Collect at Argos service on eBay

eBay and Argos have invested in technology that makes the service easy to use for both buyers and sellers.

For buyers, they simply choose ‘Click and Collect at Argos’ as the delivery option, where available, and select the store most convenient to them. They’ll receive a message when their item is ready for collection and once the item is available in store, they have seven days to collect it from a dedicated collection point in their selected Argos store.

Eligible sellers will be enrolled in the service and simply need to prepare their order for despatch as normal, with the technology taking care of the rest.

About eBay

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce and payments leader, providing a robust platform where merchants of all sizes can compete and win. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects millions of buyers and sellers and enabled $205 billion of commerce volume in 2013. We do so through eBay, one of the world's largest online marketplaces, which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive digital payments; and through eBay Enterprise, which enables omnichannel commerce, multichannel retailing and digital marketing for global enterprises in the U.S. and internationally. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

About Argos

Argos is a leading UK digital retailer, offering around 43,000 products through www.argos.co.uk, its growing mobile channels, stores and over the telephone. In the financial year to February 2014, Argos sales were £4.1 billion and it employed some 29,000 people across the business. Argos is part of Home Retail Group, the UK’s leading home and general merchandise retailer.

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Contacts

eBay Inc.

Steve Heywood, +44 7827 242 941

pressoffice@ebay.com

media.relations@argos.co.uk

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