Amazon Unveils Package Pickup Counters In Europe

With the popularity of click-and-collect offerings in Europe, Amazon is rolling out the option for shoppers to pick up their packages from staffed counters at Italian and U.K. retailers. The eCommerce retailer is teaming up with Next Plc, and has forged similar partnerships with Giunti and other merchants in Italy, Bloomberg reported.

The offering is dubbed Amazon Counter. As Bloomberg pointed out, the effort is a rare case of the company rolling out a new service outside the U.S. According to the report, the Amazon chose Europe due to the high penetration of eCommerce and the demand for click-and-collect options. The aim is for the offering to bring customers into Next’s stores, as many merchants in the U.K. are losing sales to online shopping.

“There is a strong tradition of click-and-collect in both the U.K. and Italy, and the plan is to roll Counter out further across Europe,” said Patrick Supanc, Amazon’s director of lockers and pickup, per the report. “Next really understands click-and-collect.” Shares in Next increased by as much as 1 percent on the news in London early on Tuesday (May 14).

In the U.S., it was reported in March that Amazon would offer pickup and drop-off services for packages at certain Whole Foods locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. According to reports at the time, customers can use a self-service kiosk or visit a staffed help desk for the offering, which rolled out at a store in Addison and was also available in Lubbock and Austin. Amazon lockers are also offered at certain Whole Foods stores. The Addison store will hold customer packages for up to 15 days, but lockers offer only three-day holds. Parcels can be returned there without a box and employees will pack it up and send it out. While all Amazon shoppers can use the pickup and drop-off service at Whole Foods, Prime members will receive free same-day delivery to a store without a minimum order.