Following its Amazon Lockers in several Shell gas stations, online department store Amazon has now installed several pick-up lockers on the parking lots of store chains Edeka and Aldi.
Solution to same-day delivery
Online retailers need to get accessible and cheap distribution options to meet the increased consumer demand to get same-day delivery. One such solution is to have lockers which benefits both parties: the retailer can place the items in a locker when ready and the consumer can pick it up at a time of his choosing.
In the United States, Amazon launched this particular type of pick-up option back in 2011 near 7-Eleven stores, but the first trials in Germany only took place last year. It tested the waters in about a dozen Shell gas stations in and around Munich, to see whether enough people were interested and whether they actually combined a gas station visit with an online pick-up. If it is deemed successful, the service will be expanded to the entire country.
In department stores too
In a remarkable move, two department store groups were also found willing to join the trial: Edeka has 4 Amazon Lockers in Berlin and Aldi Süd has several on its parking lots in and around Augsburg. An expansion to the Munich area is on the table, according to spokesperson Tobias Neuhaus on Supermarketblog.com.
It is not the first time Aldi installed third-party lockers: DHL’s pack stations have been a part of the German Aldi’s stores since 2008.
