One of the tricky (and sometimes annoying) aspects of online shopping is parcel collection, especially when you need to sign for the parcel. Australia Post and most couriers deliver during business hours when no one's at home; for most of us it means a trip to the post office on a Saturday morning to collect the parcel. Not only is it a bit of a hassle, it also means we have to wait a few more days before we can get our hands on our latest purchase.
Responding to the growth of online shopping and parcel delivery, Australia Post is currently trialling a service called Parcel Lockers. Upon registration, you're given a parcel locker address:
e.g. Jane Smith
Parcel Locker C123456
170-174 Chapel Street,
St Kilda VIC 3182
which you will use as your shipping address.
 |
| Photo: Power Retail |
The SMS/e-mail contains a PIN that you'll enter via the touchscreen, and voilà! The right locker opens and you can collect your goodies.
I'm lucky that I can receive my parcels at work, but I signed up for an Parcel Locker just to give it a try - partially so I can blog about it :-).
At present, Parcel Lockers are available at Brisbane GPO, Bourke Street and St Kilda in Melbourne, and St Leonards in Sydney.
Australia Post is also opening 24-hour Superstores with Parcel Lockers as well as vending machines and self-service terminals for sending parcels. There is already one in Brisbane GPO and one in Melbourne. They're going to open in the following locations:
Werribee and Collins Street West, Melbourne (VIC)
Cairns and Capalaba (QLD)
Queanbeyan, Shellharbour and North Sydney (NSW)
Launceston (TAS)
West Perth (WA)
 |
| Photo: Power Retail |
You can find out more about Parcel Lockers here