Amazon 'The Hub' brings delivery lockers to apartment complexes

Amazon currently offers delivery lockers at certain destinations such as colleges, but it wants to make things even more convenient for its customers. The company has quietly introduced a new product for apartment owners, giving them the option to have Amazon parcel lockboxes installed directly on the property. With these, residents can retrieve their packages from a secured box rather than waiting for the delivery person to show up.

Getting package deliveries is tricky, particularly if you live somewhere with a high number of people nearby. A package left on a door step is a prime target for thieves, but the only other options are for recipients to either wait at home to receive the package directly or pick it up from the delivery center. Neither is an ideal option for most people.

Parcel lockers like the kind Amazon offer strike a balance between the two, securing parcels within locked containers that the recipient can then retrieve any time they'd like...even outside of typical delivery center hours, meaning whenever is most convenient for the customer. 'The Hub' is Amazon's new way to bring these lockers to large multi-person apartment complexes.

These hubs are something like mailbox clusters used by the USPS — they not only make life easier for customers, they also remove the need for FedEx or UPS delivery personnel to travel directly to the customer's door. Instead, all of the boxes can be delivered into the single delivery locker station.

Unlike the USPS's mailbox clusters, Amazon's parcel lockers are futuristic, featuring a touchscreen display and a keypad. The customer uses their personal package access code to get the package. The Hub lockers will be configured for a particular property based on its needs, according to Amazon, with it offering four different color options and at widths as small as 6ft.

SOURCE: Amazon