DPD’s companies in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have announced plans for rapid expansion of their automated parcel lockers. The plan is to enlarge the existing network of pick-up points 2.45 times – to 641 parcel stations, in 2020-2021. Allocation of €7.3m to this expansion will make it DPD’s biggest investment in infrastructure in the company’s entire 21-year history.
“DPDgroup e-shopper barometer 2019 – a survey of EU residents conducted on behalf of DPDgroup last year – revealed 55% of Lithuanian residents choose delivery to automated parcel lockers, whereas the European average is 13%. This trend show us the direction we should go in expanding our services,” states Robertas Vilkaitis, the CEO of DPD in the Baltics.
In Lithuania, the pick-up stations network will be increased the most, nearly tripling to reach 235 in mid-2021. Already this year, there are plans to double the existing network of parcel pick-up points in the country, to 165. This time attention will be given not just to the big cities, but to outlying regions too.
It is planned that most of the new parcel lockers will be installed near shopping centres and other places where people regularly gather, though the company is open to locations besides just in shopping centres as well.
“Parcel delivery by courier remains popular, presently accounting for over 70% of all parcel deliveries, with more than 500 couriers occupied in that every day. Still, for several years now we’ve been seeing stable growth of e-commerce and both business and private customers ever more often using the parcel pick-up service, which is not just cheaper and more convenient, but also ecological,” Mr Vilkaitis notes.
DPDgroup e-shopper barometer 2019 – the survey of EU residents that DPDgroup commissioned – also showed that people most highly value convenience – having goods you order online delivered to your home at a chosen time and tracking the parcel’s route in real time, or picking it up from a parcel station on the way to or from work.
“We plan to remain the parcel-delivery leaders in Lithuania, but the unusual quarantine situation, uncertainty about the future and sudden change in consumers’ habits sharply corrected the steady expansion that was previously planned. Before the quarantine, the B2C and B2B client segments had a ratio of 30/70, but during the quarantine that relationship reversed, becoming 60/40. With the end of the quarantine, the ratio has weakened a bit, but we have no doubt the recent changes due to Covid-19 will remain for the long term,” Robertas Vilkaitis says, sharing his insights.
Source: DPD
