Amazon reportedly plans to expand its parcel lockers, currently available in the USA and the UK, to France by installing them at shopping malls in the latest expansion of its own delivery network.
According to the French online journal JDN, the e-commerce giant has approached several shopping centres in France with an e-mail highlighting the popularity of the Amazon Lockers in the UK among the country’s online shoppers. “Therefore, we would like you to benefit from them as well,” JDN cited the e-mail as saying.
Amazon is even offering to take over all the costs for the installation, maintenance, customer service and the daily operations of the lockers. The shopping centres themselves would only need to provide a power socket, 2-5 sqm of space and access to a high speed internet connection. This would avoid any additional costs or efforts on the part of shopping mall operators, thus opening the path for further expansion of the Amazon Lockers.
To use this alternative delivery mode, online shoppers just need to choose this option during their order process and can then pick-up their orders at the terminals any time of the day by means of a code sent to them by e-mail or SMS which gives them access to the locker.
The obvious benefit for the shopping centres is the provision of the additional service which is likely to make customers stay there longer and continue shopping.
Amazon started to use lockers as pick-up stations for parcels in 2011 to offer its customers a click & collect service. The first tests took place in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. London was the first European city where Amazon installed its pick-up stations. After the initial trials, the Amazon Lockers network has been further expanded across the USA and the UK.
