Drive-in shopping. A formula for the future?

It seems that customers have integrated click & collect, drive-thru stores and curbside pickup into their shopping processes. Experiments conducted by Aushopping (Ceetrus) in France and CapitaLand in Singapore show a new type of shared service is taking shape. What is the cost and advantages for retailers, especially independents? The model is not solid yet.
Almost anything can be done via drive-thru pickup points. We have seen this offered by every screen on the planet during the lockdown. Covid-19 testing, direct food sales from farmers and movie drive-in were all possible on-the-go. Although stores have widely reopened for business, the drive-thru tsunami has not abated. The standard form is a rank of parked cars with customers queuing to retrieve online purchases, even if not visiting a store. What is called in Europe “drive” and in USA “curbside pickup”. The investments announced in June by the American Walmart in the United States are symptomatic of the demand for this new sales channel. Profitability remains unclear, 20 years after the opening of a first click & collect a point in northern France by Auchan. At the end of June, the Walmart subsidiary Sam’s Club warehouse club chain deployed curbside pickup services in 4 weeks for all 600 stores.