All shops will be allowed to offer ‘ click and collect ’ services for people to collect their parcels from next month . Ministers say allowing online shoppers to pick up their purchases at local shops , rather than have them delivered at home , will give a boost to the high street . Retailers will no longer have to apply for planning permission – which costs £195 per application– and fill in reams of paperwork before being allowed to offer the service from April 15 . Online boost : All shops in the UK will be allowed to offer ‘ click and collect ’ services for people to collect their parcels from next month . The UK is the biggest user of ‘ click and collect ’ services in the world - and use is expected to double in the next three years . But planning minister Brandon Lewis said high streets do not have to lose out , because online shopping can bring people into town centres . Many people who are at work all day - and know they will miss the postman – can choose to have parcels delivered to their local shop where they can collect them at a convenient time . Mr Lewis said : ‘ Far from threatening the high street , online shopping offers a new opportunity . How we shop is changing radically and I want to help our high streets thrive from online competition . Ministers say allowing online shoppers to collect at local shops will give a boost to the high street . ‘ These measures will mean even more retailers can offer ‘ click and collect ’ services , encouraging shoppers to visit their businesses and pick up their purchases at a time that suits them. ’ There was a boom in Christmas shopping via click and collect this year – with John Lewis saying half its customers picked up parcels in store rather than having them posted to their homes in December . Supermarkets and department stores are already using the service , and some allow ebay and Amazon customers to pick up their purchases instore . Ministers also want to make it easier for a bank or estate agent to change use , so it can become a restaurant , cinema or gym without the owners going through undue costs and paperwork .
Shops wo n't have to apply for planning permission for ' click and collect ' and hopefully the service will give a boost to the British high profile .