The rollout of Amazon Counter through PayPoint is an opportunity for more independent stores to provide parcel services, according to PayPoint parcel services director Gary Winter.

While there are no plans for PayPoint to expand its 7,000 CollectPlus parcel network, Winter said the Amazon Counter service is also available to PayPoint stores outside of CollectPlus. Training is underway to double the number of Amazon Counter sites to 1,000.

DHL, Amazon Counter and one other ‘secret’ new carrier are operating through PayPoint, and the director said his focus was on “getting new customers to cross the threshold into partnered stores”, and improving customer service.

Read our exclusive, in-depth interview with Gary Winter on the expansion of PayPoint’s parcel network here

An app update in October will add predictive text to fill parcel codes automatically, and grants of up to £100 for stores to install dedicated parcel storage will be made available.

Challenged on falling parcel commissions, Winter said: “The whole sector is now under pressure to deliver for free, and everyone is getting squeezed – the carrier, the drivers, us and shops. We had to take a little bit of pain to get deals with eBay and Amazon.”

He claimed that parcel customers have higher disposable incomes, and that capturing basket spend from this new demographic was a larger opportunity than commission.