While the appeal of Amazon is fast and free delivery (if you’re a Prime member) Amazon has a new package pick-up service called Counter that allows customers to pick up packages in stores and other locations if preferred.
Amazon Counter, which is now officially available in Canada, provides the option for having a package delivered to your home or to a spot close to home, on the way of your daily commute, or while traveling afar. Indeed, the latter option makes the most sense: order something from Amazon while away on vacation in another province, for example, and have it delivered to a local shop so you can have it right away versus the package sitting at your doorstep until you get back. For those who are away from the home all day, they might prefer this option as well to help prevent porch pirates from being able to steal packages left on porches for hours until you get home.
Amazon designed and built the technology for Amazon Counter and there are hundreds of Counter locations across Canada, with plans to expand to hundreds more next year. Delivery to a counter location is available for millions of items sold on Amazon Canada and works with Two-Day and One-Day shipping at no additional cost.
“With Counter, we’ve leveraged our growing logistics network to introduce an innovative and convenient way for customers to ship and receive their packages outside of the home,” says Mike Strauch, Country Manager for Amazon Canada. “The network is also part of our ongoing commitment to supporting businesses across Canada by offering another way to bring in new customers and offer something new to their existing customers.”
Amazon Counter offers a “straightforward pickup flow and user-friendly technology” for store partners so that employees can serve customers with minimal disruption to their daily activities. Amazon says it will continue to expand the package pickup network across the country and is actively looking for more businesses to join.
One partner shop is Electroshack Compuer & Cellphone Repair shop in Vaughan, ON. “Offering Amazon Counter is good for our business and customers,” says Owner Afzal Khan. “We see regular customers more often and add new customers every day. Whenever they come in to pick up or drop off their packages, they also learn about the unique electronic repair services we provide to the community. In this competitive age, Counter brings steady revenue and an element of old-fashioned relationship-based business back to us. We could never have afforded the advertising to bring in this volume of new business.”
Counter is part of Amazon’s network of pickup points which also includes Locker, a secure self-service kiosk. To have a package sent via Counter, proceed to checkout and search and select a preferred pickup location using a postal code. As soon as the packages arrive, you’ll receive an e-mail that includes either a barcode, six-digit code, or information via the Amazon Shopping app that’s needed to retrieve their package. Customers have three days to pick up their package from a locker and seven days to collect their package from a counter location.
Businesses interested in joining the Amazon package pickup network can get more details at amazon.ca/hostahub.