Is there a future for pickup points? Maybe yes, maybe no…

There are now more than ten thousand parcel pickup points in the Netherlands. In particular, in large cities, the share of online shoppers picking up parcels at parcel points is increasing slightly. In less urban and rural areas, there are initiatives for neighborhood hubs in private homes and parcel lockers in stores and at bus stops.

Big business

Yes, it’s big business. Parcel locker provider InPost went public on the Amsterdam stock exchange for 8 billion euros. Meanwhile, Homerr, Viatim, Instabox, and Budbee are rolling out manned and unmanned parcel locker networks in Europe. BringMe and MyPup offer unmanned solutions for facility managers of offices. Amsterdam-based Parcls chooses to grow to more than 30 manned pickup points. EVAnet chooses the bus stop as its pickup point. In Utrecht, the pickup points are an integral part of new area development. Will pickup points be the new trend?

Will consumers use them?

Consumer behavior has not changed in the past 10 years. Almost 90 percent of Dutch customers have their parcels delivered to their home (or to the neighbors); 13% of parcels are picked up, increasingly in retail stores. Parcel delivery companies are now able to deliver by appointment and provide reliable track-and-trace information. So picking up is not really necessary anymore, is it?

A small group of consumers consciously chooses to pick up their order and is even willing to pay for it. I personally…