Multifamily
Why Homebuilders Should Invest in Parcel Lock Boxes
Written by: Parcel Pending
7 Min Read
Published: July 10, 2019
Updated: March 29, 2023
As any homebuilder or experienced homeowner knows, constructing or renovating a home involves countless considerations. These are processes driven by details, and none are more important than those that directly affect the safety and comfort of the home’s residents. And with many Americans spending more time at home in light of the pandemic, there are a number of new considerations that homebuilders must consider, especially when it comes to security.
A 2020 report by Accenture shows that 77% of consumers now want their online purchases delivered to their homes1. As more packages land on front doorsteps, it’s no surprise that the number of crimes related to mail and package delivery theft is increasing. A recent Safewise survey revealed that 50% of Americans experienced package theft in 2020 – a 10% increase over 20192.
It’s no surprise that package theft solutions like a video doorbell or a parcel drop box are seeing increased consumer adoption. If you’re looking for a way to protect your residence and deliveries from theft, it’s worth exploring some popular safety ideas to improve your community including adding a parcel drop box to homes in development.
Why Homebuilders Should Invest in Parcel Lockboxes
Residential parcel lockboxes, for both single-family homes and multifamily communities, provide a smart and secure delivery system that eliminates any complicating variables – like a pesky porch pirate – that could disrupt the standard delivery process.
Any packages that are left outside your door or around your property are unfortunately a target for theft and can draw unwanted characters into your neighborhood. One large box or even several small boxes can be enough to attract porch pirates.
Parcel lockboxes both conceal and protect all deliveries until authorized users retrieve them. Most importantly, parcel lockboxes can help:
- Make homeowners feel happier and more secure
- Improve community morale
- Reduce crime in your community
That sounds like a good thing, right?
Package Box for House: Making Homeowners Happier and More Secure
As any home builder knows, designing a residence involves balancing form and function. The home should be visually pleasing (“curb appeal”), but it should also include built-in safeguards that allow the homeowner to live with peace of mind and happiness.
However, because package delivery isn’t considered a part of the physical home, many homebuilders overlook considerations related to this process during the design phase, which can put future residents’ mail and property at risk. That’s why more and more homebuilders are looking at ways to ensure secure package delivery in your residential community.
An investment in parcel lockboxes offers a long-term and definitive solution to an otherwise stressful problem. That’s why Parcel Pending by Quadient smart lockboxes are:
- Designed with 24/7 cloud-based video surveillance, which allows lockbox owners to check that a delivery was made by the correct delivery person or courier and that no suspicious characters attempted to apprehend the delivery.
- Compatible with smart home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home, allowing homeowners to draw another facet of their home environment — smart parcel delivery — under their personal tech umbrella.
After living with a residential parcel lockbox, most homeowners can’t imagine going back to a system where delivery workers are given the delivery instruction to hide packages somewhere out of sight, or where residents themselves have to rush home to prevent their packaged belongings from getting stolen.
Improve Community Morale
While community morale is a dynamic concept, it’s rooted in a fundamental sense of shared security. That’s why when one residence in a community becomes theft-resistant, the entire neighborhood benefits.
When homebuilders have a chance to improve a home’s security, they should seize the opportunity – not just for the betterment of the home itself, but for the improvement of the neighborhood at large. With a rising number of parcel thefts comes the opportunity to improve the safety of the entire community. Homebuilders can get ahead of the competition by exploring parcel lockboxes and other new features that home buyers care about.
Parcel lockboxes have a positive impact on the community, but this effect is compounded when a property developer or builder designing a multi-family residence invests in a lockbox. The rise of e-commerce has caused parcel delivery to increase significantly – with Parcel Pending seeing a 67% increase in package volume during 2020 alone3. Based on various ecommerce predictions this number is only expected to climb further, with experts estimating that online shopping will amount to $7 trillion (or 25%) of global retail sales by 20244.
When even one property owner takes action to protect deliveries from package theft, the shared sense of safety in the community inevitably rises. By installing a package drop box, multifamily communities can realize the following benefits:
- Multiple packages can be delivered safely and securely by the courier, with various box sizes available to accommodate most deliveries
- Multifamily community managers can save as many as 24 hours per week that would otherwise be spent sorting and distributing packages
- Perishable deliveries like groceries, medications, and flowers can be safely stored in a refrigerated parcel locker
The benefits of installing a package drop box are both dynamic and deeply felt by residents, who can quickly come to rely on a parcel drop box for all of their delivery needs.
Reduce Crime in Your Community
While there are many reasons an area may be affected by crime, one of the most effective ways a homeowner can help reduce crime is by taking small steps to eliminate opportunities for crimes to be committed. Mitigating the possibility of parcel theft is the perfect way to start.
As previously mentioned, parcel theft is a major problem in the United States. And according to recent studies by Safewise and ValuePenguin, the statistics are more alarming than many people realize. As such, it’s important to familiarize yourself with different security service options that will help keep your area safe and keep criminals off your street.
Consider this:
- Over 75% of parcel theft last year since the start of the pandemic, and 68% of package thefts occur at single-family homes.
- Victims of parcel theft lost an average of $106 to porch piracy, and 30% of package theft victims did not get their money back5.
- Despite the popularity of internet videos chronicling package thefts in progress, the vast majority of package thieves go unpunished — less than 10% of reported incidents are ever resolved.
By investing in a secured parcel box, the chance that a homeowner will fall victim to parcel theft is all but eliminated and the neighborhood can rest easy knowing that their packaged belongings are being delivered securely to their front door, porch, or mailbox. By improving the community’s reputation for security, home builders who install parcel lockboxes can effectively help decrease crime rates and create a safer, more enjoyable neighborhood for everyone. Learn more about how homebuilders can develop safer neighborhoods here.
Secure Package Delivery
While there are many steps that homebuilders can take to improve the security of a residence, one of the most simple and effective means to do so is by eliminating the chance that any porch pirates are stealing a resident’s delivery from the front door once the courier truck has left. Yes, the individual homeowners benefit, but so does the community at large.
Parcel lockboxes effectively deter unwanted characters from nosing around the neighborhood, and help with package theft prevention by allowing residents to conveniently retrieve packages without the worry that their package could be taken from their porch before they make it home.
Parcel Pending offers a wide range of solutions that ensure the simple and secure delivery and retrieval of packages and online orders. Our automated parcel locker systems help to enhance their residents’ overall experience, save valuable time, drive resident retention, and, most importantly, prevent package theft.
Additional smart locker benefits include:
- Contact-Free Pick-Up: Scan the barcode in the delivery notification or push a button in the mobile app
- Efficient: Streamlines delivery process; flexible solutions reduce space needed to accept deliveries
- Advanced: Locker software allows for seamless integration with smart home technology like Amazon Echo and Google Home
- Weatherproof: Durable lockers protect packages from sun, rain, wind, and snow
- Accessible: ADA compliance supports any user
- Versatile: Multiple locker sizes to accept most packages
- Mobile-Friendly: Receive delivery alerts, manage packages, and retrieve deliveries with your smartphone
- Customizable: Custom configurations, color options, or wraps to match community aesthetics or branding
To solve America’s growing package theft problem, multifamily owners and developers should strongly consider investing in smart technology solutions like Parcel Pending’s smart parcel lockers to keep packages safe and secure.
Parcel Pending can help make receiving residents’ special deliveries safer and more secure without sacrificing convenience. To learn more about our multifamily smart package locker solutions, click here.
Sources:
- Standish, Jill & Kitchel, Brooks. Accenture. (2020, September 30). Holiday research 2020 – A retail season like no other [Report]. Retrieved from: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/retail/holiday-research-2020
- McEntire, Katie. Safewise. Best Video Doorbell Cameras of 2021. (2021, January 5). https://www.safewise.com/resources/smart-doorbell-buyers-guide/#Package_theft_in_the_US.
- Parcel Pending. (2021, January 21). Parcel Pending by Quadient Finishes 2020 with Record-Breaking Number of Installations [Press release]. Retrieved from: /en-us/blog/parcel-pending-by-quadient-finishes-2020-with-record-breaking-number-of-installations/
- Bruell, Alexandra. The Wall Street Journal. E-Commerce to Total a Quarter of Global Retail by 2024, GroupM Forecasts. (2020, December 16). https://www.wsj.com/articles/e-commerce-to-total-a-quarter-of-global-retail-by-2024-groupm-forecasts-11608116401.
- ValuePenguin.com. (2020, July 9). Survey Finds 1 in 5 Americans Were Victims of Porch Pirates Since the Start of COVID-19 Stay-Home Orders [Press Release]. Retrieved from: https://www.prnewswire.com/news/valuepenguin.com/