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Pickup, a subsidiary of La Poste group, has unveiled what it is calling a “multi-service” parcel locker.
Around a hundred of these new-generation lockers are due to be rolled out by 2024, in town centres in both large cities and smaller towns.
The concept brings together traditional parcel locker compartments, plus refrigerated locker compartments, as well as a “range of local services to simplify everyday life”, including parcel collection and dispatch, click & collect of dry or fresh products from local shops, locker reservations by private individuals for key collection, item lending or delivery of second-hand goods.”
Pickup says it is currently home to France’s largest network of parcel shops and lockers, with 16,000 parcel shops and 1,200 lockers.
The company adds that its new locker concept represents “a major step forward in the development of out-of-home delivery solutions”, which are expanding rapidly in France.
“This is the first scalable hybrid locker to include both conventional ‘dry’ lockers and refrigerated lockers (excluding frozen products), the number of which can vary according to local demand. The temperature of the chilled lockers is continuously monitored and can range from 2 to 8 degrees Celsius,” says Pickup.