Shipping to a parcel locker: all the benefits and options

In 2020, Belgians shopped online in record numbers. The annual market research from BeCommerce and consultancy firm GfK shows that people made around 127 million online purchases last year. The online shopping trend is only continuing this year, but customer expectations are rising too. Fast deliveries, multiple shipping options, easy returns: they've all become part of the new normal. Want to meet those expectations? Then shipping via a parcel locker is a great option to add to your shipping mix.

In this article, we explain everything about shipping to a parcel locker. Among other things, you'll read about:

Combine different shipping options in one tool, including your shipments to a parcel locker. Try Sendcloud now for free 🚀

What is a parcel locker?

A parcel locker is essentially a large cabinet full of lockers. The carrier makes sure the parcel is delivered into a locker. A text message or email is then sent to the recipient letting them know the parcel is ready. With a unique QR code, that person can open the right locker and collect their parcel.

Parcel lockers aren't just for deliveries, either. Returns work exactly the same way.

Shipping to a parcel locker: what are the benefits?

A great customer experience

When shoppers order something from your online store, they naturally want to receive their parcel as quickly as possible. But for anyone who isn't home all day, home delivery isn't always convenient. Missed a parcel? That often means knocking on your neighbor's door in the evening. Annoying.

Pickup points aren't an option for many people either: they have to make sure they get there before closing time. A race against the clock!

Offer delivery to a parcel locker and your customers no longer have to rush or wait in line at a pickup point. They can simply collect their parcel on the day and at the time they choose, and they even get five days or longer, depending on the provider, 24 hours a day to do it. Wherever they want, whenever they want.

By adding this flexible option to your checkout, you improve the customer experience, boost customer satisfaction, and increase your conversion rate too.

Save money

Delivering to multiple addresses obviously costs more time and money than dropping off several parcels in one place at once. So you can lower delivery costs for both yourself and the customer by shipping to a parcel locker.

Are you a smaller online retailer whose customers are often people from the neighborhood? Then you can even take the order to the parcel locker yourself. That way you cut out courier costs entirely and your customers are served quickly!

Good for the environment

Parcel lockers let couriers drop off several parcels in one place. They can organize the flow of parcels more efficiently, drive back and forth less, and therefore stop less often. In other words: it's good for the environment.

Consumers are paying more and more attention to environmental issues, and before making a purchase they increasingly check whether the company in question is doing its part too. For many consumers, offering the parcel locker as a shipping option is undoubtedly a clear sign that you, as a webshop, are handling this social issue responsibly.

Shipping to a parcel locker: the shipping options

You have several shipping options for sending parcels to a parcel locker. We've broken down the most important ones for you below.

bpost parcel locker

bpost has its own parcel lockers, which you'll mainly find near busy hubs such as stations and shopping centers. The postal company has been investing in parcel lockers for years and also lets other couriers, such as DHL for example, deliver parcels to bpost's parcel lockers. For several years the company did this under the name Cubee, but last year bpost decided to keep things more to the point and rebranded its parcel lockers as the 'bpost parcel locker'.

Simple name, simple system. Anyone can ship a parcel via bpost and select the 'Parcel locker' option by creating a shipping label on the website. But webshops can also connect to bpost's Shipping Manager, which instantly offers all of bpost's delivery options at checkout, including the option to have parcels delivered to a parcel locker. Customers select this option and then choose the parcel locker of their choice. Thanks to this direct connection with bpost, you can also easily create shipping and return labels and share bpost's delivery times with your customer.

Here's how to ship to the bpost parcel locker:

• Create a shipping label and stick it on the parcel.

• Have the order picked up or drop it off at a post point.

• Make sure the parcel meets these maximum dimensions: 42 x 31 x 58 cm.

• The parcel may weigh a maximum of 30 kg.

• The customer has five days to collect the parcel.

bpost keeps your customer informed about the delivery of the parcel. Within Belgium, the parcel can be delivered to your customer as early as the next business day. You also get a tracker for all your shipped parcels. You pay monthly based on the number of parcels you ship.

Bringme Box

The bpost parcel locker is undoubtedly the best known in our country. But in many office buildings, and increasingly in public spaces too, the Bringme Box is gaining popularity. Here as well, the courier places the parcel in a locker that can only be opened with a unique code. The Bringme Box signs for receipt, so to speak, and notifies the recipient that the parcel is available.

Unlike the bpost parcel locker, where parcels are available in the locker for five days, the parcel stays in the Bringme Box until the recipient comes to pick it up. So your customers don't have to worry about the parcel being automatically sent back after a certain amount of time. They do get a daily automatic reminder that their parcel is waiting.

Here's how the Bringme Box works for your customers:

• When ordering, they put 'Bringme' in front of their name to make it clear to the courier service that they need to deliver to this parcel locker.

• They then enter the address where the Bringme Box is located. From the Bringme App, they can easily find a location and connect to it. As the billing address, they enter their home address.

• They receive a notification in the Bringme App as soon as the parcel is in the Bringme Box.

To make things easier for customers, you can also connect your online store to the Bringme Network. That way customers can select the 'Deliver to a Bringme Box' option and then quickly find the parcel locker they're connected to. You can request a no-obligation quote from Bringme for this.

Shoppers do need to register as a Bringme user in advance and connect to a Bringme Box in order to have something delivered to this parcel locker. Every courier and supplier can deliver to a Bringme Box.

Returns via a parcel locker

Okay, you get it: shipping to a parcel locker is pretty simple. But how exactly do returns work? Your customers can return a parcel via the parcel locker just as easily.

The customer sticks a return label from you or the courier on their parcel and takes it to the parcel locker. Using the QR code or barcode on the return label, the customer can open a locker and place the parcel inside. The courier then collects the parcel from the locker and delivers it back to you.

Alternatives to the parcel locker

Not quite convinced by the parcel locker? There are still plenty of alternatives you can offer customers. Pickup points remain a very popular option. While customers do have to keep opening hours in mind, since pickup points are often supermarkets or newsagents, they still offer many of the same benefits as the parcel locker, both for you and for the customer:

• Customers don't have to wait at home for the parcel.

• Multiple parcels delivered to one place (time and money saved!).

• Fewer trips, less CO2.

Well-known couriers such as bpost, DHL, and UPS, for example, give you the option to deliver the parcel to a pickup point. At checkout, you can give customers the chance to select the nearest pickup point for a specific courier. But couriers also make it possible for your customers to indicate whether they want the parcel delivered to another safe place. A special mailbox, behind a gate, under a carport, or with a neighbor, for example. That way your customers still get their parcel exactly how they want it!

Shipping to a parcel locker with Sendcloud: fast and error-free

If you really want to make things easy on yourself, Sendcloud is the right partner to help you ship your orders. Sendcloud's all-in-one shipping software lets you process orders quickly and flexibly. From one and the same system, you can combine different delivery options from carriers like bpost, DHL, DPD, and PostNL. You also save time on processing and shipping orders: automation is your best friend.

You also get better insight into shipments and returns, with all the notifications you need for every status (fully automatic, of course!). By handling all your shipments through the same system, regardless of the courier or option, and largely automating the process, you avoid common mistakes. Returns a lot of hassle? Not anymore. And the icing on the cake: you can customize your track and trace environment to match your brand identity. That way you give your customers the best experience of your brand, everywhere and at all times.

Want to read more? Check out our article on e-commerce logistics!