Open to All: Managing More than Parcels with Open Network Lockers

Convenience underlies almost everything right now. It is everywhere – from food delivery to streaming services, ride-hailing to online health services. Customers want what they want when they want it, expecting seamless access to essential services at home, at work, and on-the-go. It’s no surprise, therefore, that businesses are adapting solutions to ensure customers and employees have access to reliable, round-the-clock tools that make daily life easier and more efficient.

Open network smart lockers are one such solution – enabling multiple carriers and businesses to access and manage deliveries and returns through locker locations in centralised, high-traffic areas. These lockers also allow customers to easily and conveniently return, send, and collect items en route to or from work, errands, or other day-to-day activities – at any time and all at one location.

By tapping into a ready-to-use network of satellite locations, businesses of all types and sizes can better evolve to meet today’s on-demand economy.

Lockers as Local Convenience Hubs

Parcel Pending by Quadient open network lockers now serve as community convenience hubs that extend beyond parcel services to create an accessible delivery network for businesses of all types and sizes. Our nationwide, ready-to-use network of satellite locations can help your business support additional services without requiring traditional brick-and-mortar investment or extended store hours including:

• Spare part management: Ensure engineer parts are available when and where they’re needed most, improving productivity and efficiency
• Personal item storage: From luggage to foldable bikes and more, provide safe, secure storage for customers on the go
• Retail click-and-collect: Boost your customer experience through 24/7 collection and returns at the nearest locker
• Prescription pick-up: Provide round-the-clock self-service access to essential medications
• Repair collection: Offer a secure solution for simplified access to necessary repairs
• Key exchange: Streamline handovers for property rentals, car hires, or maintenance services
• Tool hire: Enable quick self-service access to DIY and trade equipment
• Dry cleaning and laundry collection: Give customers 24/7 access to their items with flexible pickup options

The UK’s fastest-growing Open Locker Network is already trusted by major national carriers and service providers such as Royal Mail, UPS, Evri, DPD, and Keynest.

Customers Love Open Network Lockers

UK customers are already voicing their preference for open locker networks – and the convenience they afford. According to recent Parcel Pending by Quadient research:

• • Over 72% of customers are open to using parcel lockers¹
  • 50% of customers believe lockers would make their community safer²
  • 96% of UK customers using Parcel Pending by Quadient’s open locker network were satisfied with their experience³
  • 70% of first-time locker users said they would use an open network locker at least twice a month on average in the future⁴

Strategically installed in centralised locations such as transport hubs, and outside local community stores, office buildings, and retail parks, our lockers deliver much needed convenience to customers across the country. Recent data revealed that 40% of locker activity occurs outside of the core 9-5, with some parcels even being dropped off by customers at 2 AM.⁵

Further, as shoppers overwhelmingly choose businesses with free delivery, they also recognise the environmental impact of idling trucks and direct-to-door deliveries. Our research demonstrates that 43% of UK customers are worried that the current delivery system isn’t sustainable, and 31% feel pressured to have fewer items delivered for environmental reasons.⁶ The issue, however, is that customers didn’t see another option…until now.

A More Sustainable Delivery Solution

By consolidating deliveries and returns to centralised locations, open network lockers provide a more cost-effective and eco-friendly delivery solution for businesses. In fact, carriers and businesses can reduce operational expenses by up 50% using our Open Locker Network.⁷ Centralising deliveries and returns also helps businesses reduce fuel consumption, emissions, and environmental impact, supporting the achievement of corporate and governmental sustainability targets.

Customers also benefit, as they increasingly prefer convenient, eco-friendly delivery options. Nearly half of UK customers (42%) would choose to pick up an order to reduce their carbon footprint, and 75% of Parcel Pending by Quadient locker users said they chose an open network locker to manage their parcels because of its convenient location.^8,9 By trip-chaining – the practice of combining multiple stops into a single journey rather than making separate trips for each activity – customers would replace approximately 47 deliveries annually when given the option. That’s equivalent to 2.25 billion kilometres in consolidated travel in the UK alone.¹⁰

Hosting an Open Network Locker Boosts Business

Parcel lockers create a powerful opportunity to drive foot traffic and increase sales at local businesses. Recent research reveals 40% of customers use businesses more regularly when they offer easy parcel pick-up or drop-off services.¹¹ Further, 68% of Parcel Pending by Quadient locker users indicated they visited a locker host location specifically to use the locker.¹²

And these customers don’t just collect their parcels, they shop while they’re there. 47% of customers that have used a Parcel Pending by Quadient open network locker said they had made or planned to make a purchase at a locker host location, and a considerable portion (14-21%) of customers would spend £20+ at various store types where lockers are installed.^13,14

Parcel Pending by Quadient has developed the UK’s fastest-growing Open Locker Network, creating local convenience hubs for communities across the country. Our locker locations allow businesses of all types and sizes to offer secure, 24/7 access for deliveries, returns, exchanges, and item storage.

Ready to find out more about how your business can benefit from our nationwide locker network? Fill in the form below to get in touch with a Parcel Pending representative.

Sources:

1. 1. Parcel Pending by Quadient. Parcel Pandemonium. www.parcelpending.com. July 12, 2023.
   2. Ibid.
   3. November 2024 survey of 16,201 Parcel Pending by Quadient locker users across the UK.
   4. Ibid.
   5. Parcel Pending by Quadient. UK Out of Home Delivery featuring Last Mile Experts and Royal Mail. www.parcelpending.com. August 22, 2024.
   6. Parcel Pending by Quadient. Parcel Pandemonium. www.parcelpending.com. July 12, 2023.
   7. Based on customer data; your results may vary.
   8. Parcel Pending by Quadient. Parcel Pandemonium. www.parcelpending.com. July 12, 2023.
   9. March 2024 survey of 10,000 Parcel Pending by Quadient locker users across the UK.
   10. Parcel Pending by Quadient. Parcel Pandemonium. www.parcelpending.com. July 12, 2023.
   11. Ibid.
   12. March 2024 survey of 13,000 Parcel Pending by Quadient locker users across the UK.
   13. October 2024 survey of 6,356 Parcel Pending by Quadient locker users across the UK.
   14. Parcel Pending by Quadient. Parcel Pandemonium. www.parcelpending.com. July 12, 2023.