INFOGRAPHIC: Consumer View of Parcel Lockers, PUDOs and Parcel Home Delivery

By adding PUDO options, Lockers, and Click & Collect alongside your traditional home delivery, you ensure that your customers can always find a delivery option that suits them.

Parcel delivery now provides opportunities for retailers and logistics firms to compete on metrics other than speed (or cost). Offering a variety of different delivery options is increasingly important for customers, but companies need to understand exactly what these options are, what customers want from them, and how they can be facilitated in a frictionless way. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most commonly requested delivery options today – as well as the benefits that each presents.

PUDO Points (Pick-Up, Drop-Off Points)

As the e-commerce market has grown and the pressure on the last-mile has increased, the different delivery options available to consumers have also expanded in number. One of these options is a PUDO (pick-up/drop-off) point, which refers to any area where customers can receive or leave a parcel. Some of the most common locations for PUDOs include retail outlets, banks, or bespoke locker stations.

The PUDO has become a popular choice for consumers, offering benefits for retailers and customers alike. For the customer, a PUDO point offers higher levels of flexibility, allowing individuals to collect parcels at their own convenience. They also promise greater sustainability and lower costs by cutting down the number of last-mile journeys that a courier has to make.

PUDOs are gaining global appeal but are particularly popular in Northern Europe. For instance, Germany is one of the biggest markets but Finland actually comes out on top in terms of density, with an average of 20 PUDO points per 10,000 inhabitants. At Paazl, we’re currently building the biggest PUDO network in Europe, so the popularity of this delivery option only looks set to grow.

Delivery staff are entitled to a holiday and the summer period is understandably a popular time for people to enjoy a well-earned break. However, this can lead to staff shortages across the logistics sector, from the warehouse to the delivery van. 

Using more than one carrier can help reduce the likelihood that staff holidays will result in carrier underperformance. If a carrier cannot fulfill a delivery, for instance, due to employees being away, another can step in. It means customer expectations will continue to be met. 

The increasing number of shoppers relying on deliveries means the pressure created by staff summer holidays is rising. Although in recent years, 12% of packages typically experience delays, this increases to more than 30% during busy periods and holidays. Using multiple carriers can bring this figure down significantly.

Parcel Lockers/APMs (Automated Parcel Machines)

Enjoying some overlap with PUDO points, the main difference when parcels are delivered to lockers is the complete convenience they offer to consumers. With smart lockers, customers can pick up their items at any time. They will be sent a unique passcode and can use this to collect their parcel at their convenience – there’s no need to make sure a retailer is open.

More and more e-commerce sites are offering customers the option of collecting their parcels from a locker, with out-of-home deliveries now accounting for almost 50% of deliveries in the Nordics, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Poland. In fact, Poland has the largest locker network in Europe.

Although parcel lockers are increasing in popularity, there remains an opportunity for a further increase in density by improving awareness of this as a delivery option. As a result, retailers will be supported in terms of cost optimization and low-emission delivery. E-commerce firms and logistics provides have a role to play here by making sure lockers are clearly promoted as a potential delivery option for customers. At Paazl, we recently updated our checkout widget to include a separate tab for lockers, ensuring this is highlighted for users.

With Paazl you can easily display many delivery options in your checkout. Pick-up points can then also be selected with our Paazl Checkout Widget. Have you become enthusiastic about the use of pick-up locations, and are you curious about how Paazl can help your webshop to use them? We would like to get in touch with you to discuss the possibilities!