For years, now, a chief complaint of apartment dwellers has been picking up their packages when they want them.
Amazon is driving other shippers to front door delivery at apartment complexes with a new "Amazon Hub" locker program. But, it wasn’t always that way. Apartments residents would have to be at the mercy of apartment staff’s schedule to pick up packages.
Amazon Hub allows those in apartments 24-hour access to packages—from all carriers and not just for purchases made on Amazon—via lockers.
Gardner Rees is with Greystar, the largest apartment manager in the U.S., and manages more than 85,000 units throughout Texas.
“The Amazon locker declutters apartment lobbies and storage rooms by allowing deliveries to be loaded directly into the lockers themselves, and then get picked up by the residents at any time,” said Rees.
He added that it saves time for both residents and staff.
“The Hub, by Amazon makes package delivery process convenient and seamless for the resident,” said Rees.
The lockers are for apartment residents only. They'll be notified when they have a package and a code allowing them to open one of the locker slots.
While it would cost apartment owners thousands of dollars initially, apartment owners will most likely make it a perk for residents.
It's reported that Amazon has recruited a fleet of citizen drivers via its Flex program, which allows people to drop off packages from their cars. It has developed its own air and cargo networks, too.
Amazon rolled out lockers at its newly acquired Whole Foods stores.
No one has yet solved how to handle oversized packages.