Amazon pushes holiday shoppers to collect packages from stores

Amazon is pushing holiday shoppers to collect their own packages from physical stores and neighborhood “hubs” as it braces for an increase in online orders.

The company said in a statement Monday that Amazon buyers nationwide can now have their gifts delivered to one of its physical bookstores, called Amazon Books, or to a 4-star Amazon establishment.

Amazon has also promoted its network of contactless collection points, called the Amazon Hub, as an “alternative delivery location” for holiday orders. Hub locations refer to Amazon’s network of self-service kiosks and manned pickup counters, located in or near local stores, as well as in residential buildings.

Amazon said it was offering shoppers new ways to collect their packages to keep their holiday season “spoiler-free.”

“This year, many clients and their families are choosing to stay at home. The challenge of keeping those special gifts under the guise of family, friends or loved ones will be greater than ever,” John Felton, vice president of Amazon’s global delivery services, said in a statement.

But it could also benefit Amazon in other ways. By pushing shoppers to ship their orders to hubs and physical stores, Amazon can reduce the number of last mile delivery trips required. The last mile is a particularly laborious and expensive part of the delivery process.

To this end, Amazon has also directed buyers to its “Amazon Day” delivery option, which allows them to choose a day of the week to receive all of their orders, reducing the number of boxes and deliveries. This reduces the number of trips Amazon has to make to a single address.

Amazon will likely need all the help it can get with deliveries this holiday season. For months, major shippers such as FedEx and UPS have warned of a potential capacity shortfall as the pandemic-induced surge in online shopping coupled with the peak holidays leaves them struggling to keep pace.

According to Adobe Analytics, online sales this holiday season are expected to climb 33% year over year to a record high of $ 189 billion.

Amazon is also running tight capacity in its warehouses after experiencing months of peak online ordering activity due to the pandemic. The company encouraged consumers to start holiday shopping early in anticipation of the delivery crisis. Amazon kicked off its holiday season in late October, a month earlier than usual, following a delayed Prime Day.

Other retailers have followed suit. Walmart and Home Depot canceled one-day in-store events in favor of rolling out multi-day offers.