Emerging Trend: Shipping Lockers Now Offered by Numerous Startups
By Karla Robinson
November 12, 2012
November 12, 2012
- BufferBox is a Canadian startup that offers shipping lockers for consumers who aren’t available during the day when their packages arrive. Now with Amazon’s expansion of its Lockers service, BufferBox is looking at new competition and the possibility of acquisition.
- BufferBox is based on a simple idea. “There will be a locker at a certain retail location, which will become your address and you can ship your packages there,” explains GigaOM. “Once you get your package, you get an email with a PIN number and that is what you need to open the locker and get your package. BufferBox takes a cut of the delivery costs.”
- The company faces competition from similar startups such as ShopRunner, Kiala, MissNev, and now Amazon’s Locker program. Amazon has already teamed up with Staples, RadioShack, 7-Eleven and Albertsons for its Lockers.
- “If you are wondering why these retail chains are sleeping with the enemy, the answer is foot traffic,” the post states. “If people are coming to stores to pick up their packages, there is some likelihood that they might pick up other goods. Groceries or Big Gulps, sure, but paper goods and electronics, too.”
- As Amazon looks to offer locker locations at retailers, it would seem that BufferBox might be edged out.
- “However, fear of Amazon is enough to get Google or some other giant galvanized into snapping up this startup,” GigaOM suggests. “Google, which is pushing hard to get traction for its Google Checkout service, could use something like BufferBox as a way to get more businesses to use its service. For retailers, the lure of foot traffic is pretty strong.”
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