Last Mile Brief 05/06/2023: InPost lockers to come to co-op stores in Chelmsford

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InPost UK has announced a partnership with Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society Ltd that will see parcel lockers installed at some ‘The Cooperative’ stores in the Chelmsford area.

In a LinkedIn post, InPost said the lockers would be introduced at “a number” of stores, choosing not to disclose a particular figure.

Commenting on the announcement, Barry Wood, CEO of Chelmsford Star Co-Op, stated:

“The Society is pleased to be partnering with InPost, enabling our customers to use our stores as a one stop shop for not only their top up food shop but also to return their parcels.”

The deal is very much a localised one and the numbers that come from it are likely to be small. However, should the partnership widen across the full co-op network, it would provide InPost with the opportunity to further ramp up its UK parcel locker numbers.

The co-op have over 2,500 stores across the UK. Many of those are smaller, more convenience-focused shops that are located in neighbourhoods outwith city centres or in smaller towns.

Therefore, such a partnership could allow InPost to install lockers in some urban and more remote areas where it does not currently have coverage.

Photo: The Co-operative, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (illustrative image)