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Why PUDO is becoming the new norm

May 26, 2023

Parcel pick up and drop off services (PUDO) is an ideal delivery option for retailers, carriers, and consumers.

Why? Retailers are understanding the appeal from the consumers’ lens, with convenience being the overarching expectation in delivery.

Consumers want choice over 1) when and 2) where they can collect or return their items.

Retailers understand the advantages to offering an out of home option, such as customer satisfaction, cost-efficiency and cohesion with carriers. Sustainability is another influence on consumer behaviour and the greater shift toward PUDO.

Ultimately, consumers are driving the change in delivery.

64% of respondents stated their use of a parcel pick up / drop off point to collect their online orders

(Source: The Growing Importance of Delivery 2022)

Read Our Consumer Research Report

Why Consumers Prefer PUDO as a Delivery Option

Convenience, choice and control

Consumers expect the best experience from retailers and their delivery partners. With online shopping being the preferred method to shop – consumers want to see more delivery options – not just in how they pay for their goods. Consumer empowerment is achieved when they can choose to pick up or drop off an item at a convenient location that aligns with personal schedules and rids time constraints.

Sustainable

Consumers are understanding the adverse impacts of purchasing from retailers that don’t have sustainable supply chains. This can span from packaging to labour rights to carbon offsetting. PUDO is a way to offer an alternative delivery option that actively reduces carbon emissions via consolidated deliveries and less single home trips. Collecting a parcel from a location, particularly during an existing trip, makes for an environmentally conscious and convenient outcome.

Faster delivery

A major reason for why consumers prefer Click & Collect is due to its faster delivery times than standard courier delivery to homes – this was confirmed by a Power Retail study – with more than half (51%) selecting this delivery option for its speediness (Source: Power Retail Switched On Trajectory Report #56).

PUDO – The HUBBED Network

The HUBBED Network enables e-commerce and omnichannel retailers to offer parcel pick up and drop off services: Click & Collect and Easy Returns. Through our technology, we provide a seamless parcel delivery experience, with consumers given the option to select from any of our 3000 parcel collection points – open 24/7 and extended hours.

Both retailers and carriers reduce the number of independent vehicle trips to homes through consolidated parcel deliveries – reducing road congestion and therefore carbon emissions. The benefits for each stakeholder is broken down below:

Retailers: access to 3000 secure locations that supports consumer demands for choice, convenience and control in how they receive or return their item. Services are supported by an agnostic carrier solution that allows for flexibility in 3PL. Merchants can become recognised as supporting a delivery option that considers the environmental impacts of delivery.

Carriers: a cost-effective method to balance parcel volumes in peak sales periods. Carbon footprint reduction by almost half (up to 0.47kg CO2e per kilometre) through delivery density to a single location rather than multiple home trips.

Agents: individuals that represent parcel collection points can experience upsell opportunities, increased foot traffic and monetary incentive for offering HUBBED Click & Collect and Easy Returns.

A third of shoppers (33%) say they have picked up an order via a PUDO point located within a retailer and then made another purchase at the time of pick up.

(Source: The Growing Importance of Delivery 2022)

End consumers: more delivery options for greater choice, convenience, and control in when and where parcels are received or returned. Secure parcel locations. The results are customer satisfaction and fewer missed deliveries.

PUDO Popularity

The rate of online shopping has accelerated since the pandemic. Consumers are now accustomed to purchasing online due to convenience and simplicity in not having to visit a physical store. This has meant greater volume of online orders and pressure on supply chains to manage deliveries effectively whilst delivering the ideal customer experience.

There has been a 40% growth in PUDO points in the European Union and the United Kingdom since mid-2019.

(Source: Europe E-Commerce Logistics Market Report 2023)

Security is another facet to why PUDO is becoming the preferred delivery choice as it relieves the concern around parcel theft in home delivery.

63% are worried about porch piracy when they aren’t home.

(Source: The Growing Importance of Delivery 2022)

Consumers gain control as a result since they can personally collect or return their parcel.

PUDO is not only a handy alternative but sustainable – with fewer single carrier trips to homes, thus less vehicles on the road. Parcels are directed to locations that allows for delivery density. Consumers also play a key role, as they can save time – and therefore less driving time – with a pick up or drop off incorporated within an existing trip.

How HUBBED Helps Deliver PUDO

Our network locations include BP Petrol Stations, National Storage, Pack & Send, Wotso Coworking Spaces and independent retail stores. These businesses and more make up our 3000 locations that help bring parcels closer to consumers.

Locations are secure and open 24/7 or extended hours.

We continue to expand our over the counter and locker locations worldwide, including South East Asia, the UK and the Middle East.

How It Works for Agents

Agents are the representatives of stores that make up the Network. They interact directly with the end consumers and handle the initial process of the parcel journey – scanning in each parcel when it’s being collected or dropped off.

A three step process:

Check in – scan parcels delivered by a courier or dropped off by a consumer
Check out – consumer or carriers come and collect the parcel
Get paid – network location gets paid by HUBBED monthly, for each parcel scanned in

The more out of home options for consumers, the greater the ripple effect will be. Meaning, retailers, carriers and consumers will work with the cohesively to ensure faster delivery times, less missed deliveries, less carbon emissions from reduced home trips, and greater overall efficiency in the last mile.