From Packages to Fitness: The Benefits of Gyms and Sports Centres as Parcel Delivery Hubs

In recent years, gyms and sports centres have been expanding their offerings beyond traditional fitness and classes. With the rise of e-commerce and changing customer needs, many sports and fitness facilities are now becoming out-of-home hubs for parcel deliveries and returns.

Convenience

Parcel management can be a hassle for gym and leisure centre visitors, especially those who are trying to stay active and healthy. They may have to choose between waiting at home for a delivery or queuing up in a post office to return a parcel and risk missing their opportunity to work out.

Many people today are looking for convenience and efficiency and enabling them to trip-chain (combine multiple activities or errands into one trip) by picking up or dropping off parcels at the gym, is a sure-fire way to reduce time wasted.

With four of the UK’s major carriers onboard, Parcel Pending by Quadient’s carrier-agnostic lockers provide the ultimate convenience. With more carrier partners on board, members of the community have more choices on who to send their parcels with. 

Providing Greener Alternatives

Importantly, this service can also help contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly future. Trip-chaining can reduce vehicle miles travelled, and emissions produced by couriers and consumers. Instead of delivering door-to-door, couriers consolidate multiple deliveries into one location, helping to reduce the time spent on the road.

Generate Revenue

Another reason why gyms and sports centres are diversifying their services to include automated parcel lockers is to create an additional revenue stream. With the competition in the fitness industry becoming more intense, it’s becoming increasingly important for these facilities to offer unique and innovative services to stay ahead. By partnering with a parcel locker provider such as Parcel Pending by Quadient, gyms and sports centres can create a new source of income that is complementary to their core business.

Promote Community Engagement

The Parcel Pending by Quadient locker system also promotes community engagement by driving footfall to gyms and leisure centres. When placed in public, accessible locations, the lockers can increase engagement with these facilities and promote a sense of community and social cohesion. Visitors will appreciate the convenience of the locker system, which can differentiate the gym or leisure centre from competitors. This can lead to increased customer retention and positive word-of-mouth advertising.

Christian Rose, CEO at Powerleague said: “Through this [partnership with Quadient], we are excited to welcome new visitors to our locations and enhance their experience with our additional services.

With thousands of daily visitors, it was important for us to deliver exceptional customer service, and the self-serve feature of Parcel Pending by Quadient lockers is just another way in which we can achieve this’’.

Improve Safety

In addition to enhancing convenience and community engagement, the locker system can also improve community safety. Package theft is a growing problem in the UK, with parcels being stolen from doorsteps, apartment buildings, and porches. By providing a secure storage solution for parcels, Open Network parcel lockers as an out-of-home delivery alternative can help reduce package theft in neighbourhoods. The locker system can also free up space at the front desk, where packages would normally be stored, and ensure that visitors have a smooth and efficient experience.

Automated Solutions

When it comes to offering a parcel delivery service, gyms and sports centres have the option of choosing a manual or automated solution. However, an automated solution such as the Parcel Pending by Quadient locker system offers many advantages.

Parcel Pending by Quadient’s locker system offers a self-service, 24/7 accessible solution for parcels. Couriers deliver directly into the lockers, and recipients can pick up their parcels at their convenience. Moreover, with our carrier-agnostic lockers, visitors can receive and send packages from any carrier, making it easier for them to manage their parcels.

An alternative to an automated solution would require staff at the centre to manually facilitate the parcel process and would also require storage space for parcels within the grounds of the building.

With an automated parcel locker, all parcels are delivered directly into the locker and stay stored there until the customer or courier collects them. This not only eliminates any additional workload for gym staff but also ensures secure and efficient parcel delivery and management.

If you are interested in exploring Open Network Parcel Lockers for your gym, or leisure centre get in touch here.