John Lewis is to introduce a £2 charge for click and collect orders under £30 from the end of next month, saying the current free service is "unsustainable".
The retailer's managing director, Andy Street, said the move would only affect about 20% of orders and he hoped it would encourage customers to group items under the threshold together.
The scheme currently allows customers to order any item from the John Lewis website and have it delivered free of charge to their nearest John Lewis or Waitrose store or Collect Plus outlet.
He said: "We are sure customers will understand why we are doing this.
"There is a huge logistical operation behind this system and quite frankly it's unsustainable.
"We consider ourselves to be leaders and we want to take the lead on this."