Snail mail may be on its way out, but Canada Post sees a bright future with ecommerce.
The Crown corporation has opened a new pick-up centre in Richmond Hill, Ont. that caters to shoppers in the digital age. The test store features a drive-through for parcel pickups; a 24-hour zone for PO boxes; a vending machine with stamps, gift cards and coins; and a self-serve shipping kiosk.
“The whole store is focused on our parcel business and it’s focused on convenience for our ecommerce shoppers,” said John Reis, general manager of retail at Canada Post.
“Since we deliver two thirds of all the ecommerce parcels in Canada, we wanted to build something that would help solidify our leadership position.” And with ecommerce growing quickly, “we decided we needed to act fast and see what resonates with our customers.”
Another key element of the store is a large changing room so customers who bought clothes can try them on. “A great deal of the time, there are a lot of returns,” said Reis. “Customers can simply try it on, then use the return process and send it right back without having to go home [to try on the clothes].”
The store also has space for a pop-up store, which will be used by Canada Post’s ecommerce customers such as apparel companies. There’s also a “power wall” with digital screens featuring some of Canada Post’s services. “Hopefully at some point we can monetize that space and do some advertising for some of our [corporate] customers,” said Reis.
Two more pickup centres are slated to open in Edmonton and Vancouver next year.
