UPDATE collecting items from Argos during COVID-19 pandemic

Hi,

I wanted to write to you to let you know about steps we have taken to keep you and our colleagues safe when you’re collecting items from Argos. Over the past few weeks we have made lots of changes to the way we work and the way you shop at Argos and we will continue to adapt in order to do the right thing for both our customers and our colleagues.

In line with government advice, we have closed all standalone Argos shops. Until the government changes its guidance, you will only be able to shop with Argos online. There are two ways for you to receive your order – we can deliver it to your doorstep, or you can collect it from an Argos within a Sainsbury’s store. Where possible please choose to have your products delivered to you at home. Over the last few weeks we have significantly increased the number of deliveries we can make every day and we will keep adding to this over the coming weeks.

In order to keep our customers and drivers safe all of our home deliveries, including large items, will now be delivered to your doorstep. Where more than one colleague is needed to safely deliver an item, colleagues will travel separately to deliver the order. We have also temporarily suspended our installation and recycling services and will be contacting customers who had installations booked to discuss their order and refund installation charges.

If your product is not available for delivery, you can collect it from an Argos store within Sainsbury’s while you are shopping for food and other essential items. We are also working to expand the number of stores that offer Argos collection.

When you are in Sainsbury’s stores you will see a number of changes that we have made to keep everyone safe. We are limiting the number of people allowed in our stores at any one time. When it is busy, you may need to queue to enter the Sainsbury’s store and you may also need to wait in the Argos shop while we collect your order. We have introduced queuing systems and safety screens in all stores to help keep everyone a safe distance apart. We are also asking customers to keep two metres from other people and to only send one adult per household to our shops.

Our Customer Careline team is incredibly busy at the moment and we have asked them to prioritise helping vulnerable customers to access online food orders from Sainsbury’s. As we focus our efforts on feeding the nation and prioritising these customers, all Argos orders currently need to be placed online.

For the safety of our customers and colleagues, we are currently unable to accept returns via our collection service or in Argos stores within Sainsbury’s so please don’t bring products back to stores. We have however extended our returns period for products eligible for our 30 days return promise. Any purchases made from 1st March 2020 can be returned up to 30 days after our standalone Argos stores reopen. This means you don’t need to contact us about returning any damaged or faulty items, which will help our customer Careline teams who are working around the clock to focus on those who need our help the most.

If you do need to return something, once our standalone stores have reopened, these products can be returned to any of our stores. In line with our usual returns policy they will need to be unopened, unused and in their original packaging, with proof of purchase. If you need to cancel an online order please use the Argos website to do this and bear with us as we process your refund as fast as possible.

I know that some of these changes are inconvenient and I apologise for this. I hope you can understand that we are doing our best to do the right thing for all of our customers. Our incredible colleagues are playing a vital role in serving the nation as we all adjust to new ways of living and working. We will continue to do everything we can to best serve our customers at this challenging time and I want to thank you for playing your part and treating our colleagues with kindness and respect.

Best wishes,

Mike Coupe, Chief Executive

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