Check the industry’s thoughts
Sean Fleming, eDelivery writes writes … Earlier this month, we reported on news that trials are taking place to assess the viability of using the boot of a car as a secure, alternative parcel drop off point. Is this a ground-breaking approach to easing the last-mile bottleneck? Or is it an example of next-big-thing hype?
In the early days of click-and-collect, there were plenty of doubters to be found – why would customers want to go into a shop to collect something they’d bought online when they could have it delivered to them at home? We’ve also seen a great deal of interest in the potential for using drones to deliver parcels, but much of that initial enthusiasm has been replaced by scepticism and a sense that drones will find their niche, but never be mainstream.
Share their view
It begs the question, which of those two potential destinies is the car boot drop off most likely to succumb to? In the absence of a crystal ball, we invited a range of people from the industry to share their view.
If, after reading this, you too have an opinion you’d like to share, please get in touch as we’ll gladly publish a few more opinions on this.
Eoin Kenneally, head of ecommerce at MyHermes, thinks the car boot is a viable option:
“The delivery to car concept is a really good example of how to use the emerging ‘Internet of Things’ that is currently a hot topic. It could be a good solution for the many commuters who park their cars and travel into cities for work, allowing their secure stationary vehicle to be a drop point of choice.
Also if a consumer is out for any reason but their car is on the drive then this becomes a very good alternative drop point. It a very viable concept and will help to make excellent use of the large amount empty boot space around the country.
