Quadient’s lockers offer lo­cal shops the opportunity to create revenue and foot­fall from parcels without sacrificing staff time or store space, according to the firm. The claim from Qua­dient’s vice president of global strategic initiatives, Gary Winter, follows the recent announcement that Royal Mail and DHL would join DPD, Evri and UPS in using Quadient’s Parcel Pending locker sites to al­low shoppers to send, re­turn and collect parcels.

Unlike other parcel lockers, Quadient has built-in label printers and dedicated space per car­rier, simplifying returns for shoppers to under 30 seconds.

Fixed income

Speaking to Better Retailing, Win­ter said the company is “marching steadily” to­wards its target of hitting 5,000 UK locker sites, and added he’d “love to hear from any store that feels they could benefit from this”.

A rep for the company said stores can receive up to £1,000 per year in rent. Asked about the pay and other benefits for sites from installing its lockers, the former PayPoint par­cels boss responded: “It’s on a case-by-case basis. It’s different to parcels over the counter, where it’s pay per parcel. This is a fixed income for having a locker on site. The biggest benefit is driving the foot­fall and getting people in the store.”

In a survey by Quadient, 54% of UK shoppers said they would make extra purchases when picking up from a locker. Another major benefit, according to Winter, is getting parcels out of the store. He predicted the UK would follow the Nordics, where nearly all conveni­ence chains have switched from over-the-counter parcel services to lockers, because it was “becoming a chore for stores”.

He explained: “You’ve got high volumes of par­cels piling up everywhere and taking up staff time, which is more expensive than ever. How does hav­ing staff handling parcels for a low sum of money compare to serving your actual customers better?”

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Winter added that its new deal with Royal Mail meant that local shops can attract Royal Mail custom­ers without having a post office. He stated: “Maybe you wanted a post office, but there’s one nearby and you can’t get one in your store. This is the next best thing: post-office-type footfall without having to give up the space or deal with the transactions. You’re going to get Roy­al Mail customers going in and out even if you’re not a post office. Even if you are a post office, you can still have a locker.”

Advantage

While admitting the UK is still years away from achieving the density of lockers found in other markets, he described stores adding them now as having “first-mover ad­vantage”.

“If there’s two stores across the road from each other, both aren’t usually going to have a locker,” he said.

Asked why retail­ers considering a locker should choose Quadient, the vice president said it now has carrier partnerships representing 70-80% of all UK parcels, giving stores the best pos­sible footfall.

The key requirements for a locker, according to Winter, are that a store is near where people work, live or spend leisure time. The units need a two-, three- or four-metre-wide space with 60cm depth and a location fairly close to electricity, and safe for delivery drivers and customers.

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