Amazon Has Advantage With Package Lockers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Amazon has recently had a deal with apartment owners to have package lockers installed. This is so that delivery in urban areas could be made much easier. This invariably gives Amazon a huge advantage to these customers, as it then makes it not just a retailer but also a package delivery hub.
This is even more so since the packages need not come from Amazon. Any package can then be sent to a package locker, and the owner can pick it up. Amazon of course gets the brand recognition since it has its name on the locker, even if the package may not come from them.
The package hub system is called Hub by Amazon. These lockers are installed in buildings that are owned by several large property management companies which include AvalonBay Communities Inc, the lockers began being installed six weeks ago in certain AvalonBay complexes.
The Amazon brand strategy
Amazon’s strategy seems to be working. Kurt Conway, senior vice-president of brand strategy and marketing for AvalonBay, did not specify which complexes have the lockers but did offer insight as to how important they are.
“On average, our communities receive about 1,000 packages per month,” Kurt Conway VP of Brand Strategy AvalonBay.
He goes on to say that the lockers could be valued by the community, which would give people access and convenience in getting their packages. Amazon and AvalonBay plan to have the lockers installed in 100 of the 287 apartment buildings owned by AvalonBay.
One of the carriers that will use the lockers is UPS, as confirmed by Kalin Robinson, director of new product development for UPS.
Amazon’s strategy is to use the lockers as a billboard for their business. This has also been noted by Georgianna Oliver, founder of smart locker manufacturer Package Concierge.
“They’re trying to control the retail chain through the last mile of delivery,” Georgianna Oliver Founder Package Concierge
This could possibly be the big advantage that Amazon will have over its rivals, and such control would ensure that Amazon stays on top throughout the delivery process.
Would this system work out in Amazon’s favor in the long run? Post your comments below about it.
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Dave Furness
Dave is a Co-Founder of eSeller365. For over 10 years he has been involved with eCommerce with a particular interest in the marketplaces and the huge opportunities available for sellers when utilizing a multi-channel strategy. After a year of being the UK’s youngest eCommerce consultant, he built an education platform called UnderstandingE that showed the world how to utilize Magento as the “Third Generation of Multi-Channel software”.
Dave has also created a YouTube channel dedicated to entrepreneurship and eCommerce as well as a podcast dedicated to mental health awareness. When Dave isn’t working his main interests include learning and playing Chess, researching the Crypto and NFT space, and trying to find the nearest beach.