Spar UK managing director Debbie Robinson has called on store owners to demand more for their role as click and collect parcel points for internet retailing giants.

Speaking at the ACS Summit in Birmingham, Robinson told shopkeepers: “We are fulfilling the last mile for people that are making ridiculous amounts of money. You simply can’t afford to subsidise the growth of these businesses. You have to find economic cost-effective ways to deliver that final position.”

Retailers told Retail Express that promises of footfall alone were “not good enough”. Janette Tucker from Lifestyle Express in Winscome, Somerset said: “It’s important that you make parcels work like any other product in your store.”