How Smart Lockers Meet the Demands of a Post-Pandemic World: Parcel Management Keys to Success in 2021

With just 1.5% of Canadians vaccinated and the virus still posing a serious threat, many behavioral changes made at the height of the pandemic are here to stay for the immediate future. One of the most significant is online shopping

Online Sales Lead to Package Management Issues

Canada Post reports that e-commerce shopping sales grew by 54% in 2020 to $62.9 billion and will reach almost $80 billion by 2023. Plus, package delivery hit an unprecedented 2.4 million packages delivered in one day during the 2020 holiday season¹!

And these parcel statistics don’t include the rapid rise of online food delivery which is expected to grow another 7% this year.

Parcel Pending Smart Parcel Lockers to the Rescue

What does this mean for you as a property manager? It means now is the time to adapt your package management systems to easily track packages, decrease package theft, boost employee productivity, entice new renters, and increase renter satisfaction – all by installing our smart locker system.

Package Tracking and Visibility

Say goodbye to your employees accepting packages, notifying residents, or distributing packages. Our chain of custody reporting tools give you complete visibility into where your residents’ parcels are at all times. Since our lockers are carrier-agnostic, we can even accept deliveries from services like HelloFresh, SkipTheDishes, and Instacart.

Expect amenities like refrigerated lockers to play a bigger role as growth in grocery and pharmaceutical delivery accelerates. In fact, Parcel Pending has already seen a nearly 45% uptick in requests for our refrigerated solutions over the past year.

Reduce Theft

It’s not just “porch pirates” but “building bandits” that also steal packages. An astonishing 1 in 3 (33%) respondents to a FedEx Canada survey reported they were a victim of package theft².

With our lockers, the courier service delivers packages directly to the secure electronic locker system. Residents are automatically notified by email, text, or mobile app alert that a package has arrived. They are given a unique access code that they can manually enter or a barcode they can scan for contact-free access to their delivery. Packages are safe until the residents retrieve them on their schedule using their unique and secure access code or barcode on their smartphone. They can also use the mobile app to open their locker door with Bluetooth.

The Demand for Safety and New Amenities is Real

Since the apartment has become command central – acting as the office, school, gym, and more – residents are looking for new amenities that improve their lives and maximize safety. In-suite laundry and balconies are logical demands, as are smart lockers. A 2020 Informa Tenant Preference Survey shows that 66% of tenants want to have smart lockers at their property.

Residents don’t want to queue up to retrieve their package; it not only wastes their time, but also makes it difficult to practice social distancing. Lockers also allow for fast package retrieval (in as little as 10 seconds) without any face-to-face interactions.

Dean Holmes, Senior Vice President Residential Operations, QuadReal, shared their experience: “Automation during COVID has been important to us for everything from rent to service orders, and automating package management fits really nicely with that by eliminating a physical touchpoint. In addition to storing packages, lockers are used for documents, keys, and other items we need to get to our residents.”

Resident Attraction, Satisfaction, and Retention

Given the events of the past year, prospects are looking for the “extras” to trigger a move; they are increasingly seeking a balance between amenities and safety.

Dedicated co-working spaces that offer plenty of light, social distancing, high-speed internet, and numerous outlets fit the bill. Gyms that limit the number of participants and require a reservation are also in high demand. Of course, residents and prospects also want to avoid unnecessary contact, so maintenance scheduling and door opening apps also help provide a safe experience.

Look to LatchOS, Mobile Doorman, and Amenity Boss for ready-made apps. In short, the right amenities today provide a competitive advantage for attracting and retaining residents. One Parcel Pending customer reported that installing a smart parcel locker system helped boost their lease renewals by 40%.

Boost Employee Productivity and Serve the Community

One of the often-overlooked benefits of our smart locker system is that it boosts your employee productivity.

Parcel Pending customers have reported saving as much as 24 hours each week! Most importantly, your staff can devote those hours to serving the resident community. Holmes said, “People would be surprised how much time we were spending on package management. It was almost a full-time job prior to our installing a locker system. Our teams love it. Now we can focus more on leasing and we have more time to spend with prospects.”

Whether it’s a virtual wine-tasting, jazz event, or a socially distanced book club, humans are craving interaction.

Shifting to smart lockers is a big change…for the better. Parcel Pending by Quadient has installed over 50 systems in the Greater Toronto area, including QuadReal’s Residences on Bloor, 57 Charles at Bay, and Galleria; Tribute Communities/Rhapsody Living’s Parkside Square; and Tricon House’s The Selby.

Talk to a dedicated Canadian representative to answer all of your questions about multifamily parcel locker solutions.

Sources:

1. Canada Post. (2021, January 18). A record-setting end to an unprecedented year provides Canada Post with key learnings for 2021 and beyond [Press release]. Retrieved from: https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/corporate-news.page
2. Giunta, Mark. Global News. ‘Tis the season for porch pirates: How to avoid package theft this holiday season. (2020, December 7). https://globalnews.ca/news/7506741/tis-the-season-for-porch-pirates-how-to-avoid-package-theft-this-holiday-season/.