FAQs About Restructuring Your Package Room

With the average multifamily apartment community estimated to receive as many as 486 packages per week, now is the perfect time to review the how’s and why’s of restructuring your package room with answers to your most commonly asked questions.

Streamlining Operations

Why should I change my package or mailroom?

The 2020 holiday season had not one, but two record-shattering days of online eCommerce sales with $9 billion on Black Friday bested by $9.4 billion rung up on Cyber Monday^1,2. In 2020, $861 billion was spent on online retail sales representing 21.3% of total retail sales and a staggering 87% increase from 2017³. The forecast is clear: the onslaught of packages will continue disrupting mail and package rooms for multifamily apartment buildings. Properties should strongly consider updating their package room solutions to help better manage and protect residents’ packages.

With a variety of sizes and styles of smart package lockers available, most communities can combine them with an existing package room for an ideal solution that will maximize the type, size, and number of packages and other deliveries your property can accommodate for residents.

Why should I choose smart package lockers for my apartment building?

There are five key reasons to add smart lockers to your package room:

1. Smart package lockers are often residents’ number one requested amenity and can significantly boost resident satisfaction at your community.
2. Smart package lockers give you a competitive advantage, allowing you to sign more leases and increase your resident retention. It’s estimated that package lockers can lift lease renewals by a jaw-dropping 40%!
3. Automatic lockers can save you time and boost operational efficiency. Installing a smart locker system for your package room can save your staff as many as 24 hours each week!
4. A package management system can help reinforce your community’s COVID-19 safety protocols (including social distancing) and provide safe, contactless package retrieval for residents.

Package lockers also serve as an effective package theft prevention tool, providing peace of mind for renters and property managers alike.

How do package lockers help with operational efficiency?

Transforming your package room with an automated parcel locker system can save your staff as many as 24 hours each week! They no longer have to accept residents’ packages, notify residents, track package delivery, or deal with individual residents’ schedules. Most importantly, your personnel can get back to dealing with other essential property management tasks like leasing and resident relations. Your existing package room can still be maintained for any oversized packages such as rugs, mattresses, and exercise equipment.

What else can package lockers be used for?

Since the lockers are a secure storage and retrieval system, you can maximize their utility by using them for lease delivery, key pickup, and transfer of other critical items.

Can Parcel Pending’s locker system integrate with my property management software?

Yes! Parcel Pending by Quadient’s locker system can integrate seamlessly with your existing property management software system to ensure that resident data remains up to date. Our package locker system software also gives you access to analytics and dashboards that provide an instant summary of how your lockers are being utilized. Plus, our chain of custody reporting tools give complete visibility into where your residents’ packages are upon delivery to our lockers.

How do smart package lockers work?

Here’s how our secure package locker system works:

1. The courier service delivers an incoming package directly to the smart lockers.
2. Residents are automatically notified by email, text, or mobile app alert that a delivery has arrived. They are then given a unique access code that they can manually enter, or they can scan in the barcode, found in the notification, for contact-free access to their compartment and their delivery.
3. Residents retrieve their package at the lockers using their unique, secure access code or barcode.

Lockers and COVID-19

How do lockers help with social distancing?

Instead of compressing pick-up times to fit your leasing office hours, residents can use a self-service parcel retrieval system to spread pick-ups out over a longer period, thereby resulting in successful social distancing.

What does it mean that package pick-up is contactless?

It means that residents can pick up their packages without touching any surfaces and with zero human interaction! In fact, it typically takes less than 10 seconds to open a locker and retrieve a package.

Resident Benefits of Smart Lockers

How do package lockers boost resident satisfaction?

Many factors can help bump up satisfaction scores:

1. Residents feel safer not having to stand in a crowded line, mailroom, or package room and are also able to better practice social distancing.
2. Residents feel more in control of their deliveries, as they are able to pick up their packages on their schedule. And, with most package room solutions available 24/7, they are no longer locked into property managers’ leasing or concierge hours for package retrieval.
3. Residents gain peace of mind knowing that their packages are safely and securely stored in a locker – not subject to theft, loss, or porch pirates.

How do smart lockers reduce theft?

With an astonishing 1.7 million packages lost or stolen every single day and 40% of thefts occurring within an apartment community, secure package delivery is paramount for both residents and property managers. Smart lockers require a unique PIN or barcode to access a delivery, keeping parcels secure until retrieved by the intended recipient. Further, Parcel Pending’s chain of custody reporting tools give complete visibility into where your residents’ packages are once they are delivered.

How does the Parcel Pending app work?

Residents can download the app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and complete a short form with their name and address, as well as set a username, password, and PIN. They can also select if they need a locker that complies with ADA-established reach ranges.

Residents are automatically notified when they have a parcel pending. They can also view their parcel delivery history and even set a vacation schedule, so packages are stored safely until their return and storage fees don’t accrue.

Customer Service

Why should I choose Parcel Pending?

Since Parcel Pending’s inception in 2013, we have successfully delivered over 70 million packages across North America! Almost all of these deliveries required zero interaction with property management, leasing consultants, or administrative staff. We were also recently selected as the sole smart locker provider for Lowe’s 1,700 U.S.-based stores.

What happens if our residents have a problem?

Residents at your community have 24/7/365 access to Parcel Pending’s U.S.-based customer support team via email and phone.

What is a refrigerated locker?

A refrigerated locker is a smart parcel locker that is temperature-controlled. Its purpose is to safely and securely store perishable items, such as medications, groceries, prepared food, and wine, for a short period of time (to prevent spoilage).

Do you offer refrigerated packaged lockers?

Yes! In fact, demand for refrigerated lockers increased 45% in 2020, and we expect to see that trend continue. Same-day delivery is expected to grow by 22% through 2024 aided by local restaurants, grocers, and retailers fueling demand for refrigerated lockers⁴.

Can lockers work with my interior design and color scheme?

Yes! Parcel Pending’s smart lockers can be custom-wrapped to include your logo or to perfectly match your community décor.

Are there special financing options available for your smart lockers?

Yes! Parcel Pending offers several flexible pricing strategies including a “no money down” option that eliminates significant upfront capital expenses.

How do I figure out how many lockers I need?

As part of our service, Parcel Pending offers a complimentary assessment of your package management system based on package volume and resident count at your multifamily property. Based on this data, we recommend the optimum number of lockers and the best locker configuration to fit your needs.

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Most apartment buildings already have a lot on their plates providing much-needed services for residents. Managing even more packages takes up valuable time that could be better spent elsewhere. Parcel Pending smart lockers can help make receiving residents’ packages safer and more secure without sacrificing convenience.

Do you have any questions not answered here? Contact a member of our sales team for more information on how to transform your package room.

Sources:

1. Durbin, Dee-Ann. Business Insider. US consumers spent a record $9 billion on Black Friday online shopping. (2020, November 29). https://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-sees-record-online-as-us-shoppers-stay-home-2020-11.
2. Lucas, Amelia. CNBC. Cyber Monday online sales hit record $9.4 billion, boosted by late-night spending spree, Adobe says. (2020, December 3). https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/03/cyber-monday-online-sales-hit-record-9point4-billion-adobe-says.html.
3. Ali, Fareeha. Digital Commerce 360. U.S. ecommerce grows 44.0% in 2020. (2021, January 29). https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/us-ecommerce-sales/.
4. Technavio. (2020, July 30). COVID-19 Impacts: Same-Day Delivery Market in U.S. Will Accelerate at a CAGR of About 22% Through 2020-2024 | Growing B2C E-Commerce Market in US to Boost Growth [Press Release]. Retrieved from: https://www.technavio.com/newsroom