Zalando shares ‘excellent’ results from private delivery pilot

Zalando has shared the first positive results following a new pilot delivery service operated by private persons.

The German fashion giant has been piloting private pickup and drop-off points in Denmark (Aarhus and Copenhagen), which see members of the public sign up to be ‘Din Nabo’ (or ‘your neighbor’ in Danish) and receive packages for others to collect, effectively acting as pick up points. They also earn a commission for their service, dependent on the number of packages they handle.

The service aims to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional delivery methods, as it reduces the number of deliveries made by providing a single drop-off or pickup point. Zalando has been trialling the service with Dutch partner Homerr since July and said customers using the service have experienced “excellent service”.

“The test has shown very positive results. Ninety-five percent of the Zalando customers say that they received an ‘excellent service’ when collecting or returning their package,” said Remko Bakker, lead logistics platform services at Zalando, in a statement. “The majority of the customers say that they would highly recommend the service to friends and that they will use the service again themselves in the future. It’s great to see that market research is confirmed by actual results.”

According to Zalando’s market research, 72 percent of Danish customers say they are “highly likely” to use pickup points in the near future knowing that they are more environmentally friendly.

The pilot test indicated that the concept will function even better in rural areas of Denmark because the number of stores is smaller and opening hours shorter, which means there’s a need for more convenient pickup and drop off options. Additionally, in rural areas more private people live in houses or the ground floor of apartment buildings, which increases the convenience of the concept for both the “Din Nabo” and the customer.

Photo credit: Homerr