In Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, DPD Germany is opening a new store for mail order purchases and aims of making online shopping more sustainable and convenient. Consumers located in the area can have their orders sent directly to the first DPD Store in Germany, try on and try out their purchases there, and send off any returns on the spot right away. Cardboard boxes that are no longer needed can be passed on free of charge. The shop also functions as a micro-depot from which parcels are delivered to the neighbourhood by electric cargo bike.
Returns are accepted on the spot directly by the DPD Store staff, as are used and re-usable boxes and packaging materials, through the “Verwert-Bar” recycling point. In line with the principle of re-using instead of recycling, they are passed on free of charge to customers who want to send a parcel of their own. The required parcel label can also be created and printed out at the self-service terminal.
The DPD Store focuses squarely on sustainable partnerships: the self-storage unit provider Storebox has rented part of the shop space and offers online bookable storage spaces of varying sizes. Either for a short period of time or permanently, anyone interested can use these to store items that take up too much space at home or are only needed on an occasional basis.
The DPD store in Friedrichshain also functions as a micro-depot and is therefore a component of green city logistics, which aims to reduce the volume of cars and delivery traffic in inner cities. A number of e-cargo bikes from the manufacturer ONO are stationed at the back of the store, where they are charged and loaded with parcels on the spot. When the micro-depot goes into operation, initially around 300 parcels per day will be delivered locally emission-free to customers who have not chosen to have their parcels delivered to the parcel shop area of the DPD Store.
With this self-operated store DPD Germany is launching a pilot project which will serve as a model for further shops of this kind: in the long term the concept is to be implemented throughout Germany.
The DPD Store is located at Frankfurter Allee 31, 10247 Berlin, and is open Monday to Friday from 08:00 – 20:00 hrs and on Saturdays from 08:00 – 14:00 hrs.
Source: DPD
