Geopost has hit a new milestone in the expansion of its Out-of-Home delivery network by reaching more than 100,000 pick-up and drop-off points¹ in Europe. The strong network growth recorded over the past few years confirms the growing customers’ demand for this type of delivery solutions, which are more flexible and more affordable.
As highlighted by the latest edition of Geopost’s E-shopper barometer², consumers are increasingly turning to Out-of-Home delivery for flexibility and affordability reasons. Locker and in-store deliveries have seen a steady increase and now account for 23% and 24% respectively of the usual delivery locations, up by 3 and 4 points on last year. This is a fast-growing market, and one in which Geopost and Pickup have significantly strengthened their presence over the last few years. Out-of-Home network numbered 20,000 points in Europe in 2015 and 50,000 in 2021. Of the 100,000 Out-of-Home points reached in Europe today, 25,000 points are located in Poland, 18,000 in France, 10,000 in the UK and almost 8,000 in Germany and Italy.
Out-Of-Home delivery is a key pillar of Geopost’s "Together & Beyond" strategic roadmap launched in 2021. The expansion and densification of the Pickup network has recently made further progress thanks to new partnerships the Zabka shop network in Poland (+9,100 points), with the Post Office (+4,000 points) in the UK, with Esso service station networks (+200 lockers) and Louvre Hotels Group (+150 lockers) in France, among others. As a key rule, Geopost uses a local approach to develop its network, in order to determine the right mix of parcel shops and lockers based on local cultural preferences. Estonia for instance has the highest preference rate for locker deliveries (preferred solution for 83% Estonian e-shoppers), while in Portugal regular e-shoppers appreciate more and more deliveries at work (+8 points compared to last year). France is the country where the parcel shop delivery is the most popular: right next to home delivery, parcel shop delivery is the second favorite option for 59% French regular e-shoppers.
In Italy, as illustrated by the celebration of this 100,000th point in Roma, the implementation of Out-of-Home delivery options is a natural way for BRT to continuously accompany market trends and e-shoppers’ demand for more convenient delivery solutions. With 7,900 BRT-Fermopoint pick-up points all over the country, BRT is proud to count among the leading players in Out-of-Home. This widespread network was recently extended to include lockers. Numerous locations are already in place, and it is expected that by the end of the year a total of 150 lockers will be installed in the main urban areas of Italy. At group level, Geopost’s Out-of-Home network is made of more than 17,000 lockers in Europe, and the share of lockers will continue to grow over the coming years, reaching around 25% of the Geopost Out-of-Home network by 2025.
Geopost places consumer expectations, specifically measured by its E-shopper barometer, at the heart of its innovation strategy. Among its latest innovations and development prospects, Pickup launched multiservice lockers in July 2023, enabling consumers and retailers to notably exchange fresh produce. Another innovation under development is the fitting room concept at parcel collection points. This concept is currently being rolled out in Germany, Croatia and Poland. With almost 3 in 4 European regular e-shoppers conducting online shopping amongst themselves in 2023, an increase of C2C deliveries can be expected in coming years. In this context, having a dense and solid Out-of-Home network will help drive growth in the C2C segment and respond to strong demand from eshoppers on easy returns offers and circular economy,
Proximity is a key lever for the success of delivery, and Out-of-Home is a strong pillar of Geopost’s business strategy for tomorrow. Our teams are therefore actively committed to expanding the territorial anchorage. In this context, reaching the milestone of 100,000 Out-of-Home points is a great achievement. We are proud of the great work accomplished by our teams to pioneer in this market segment. Going forward, we intend to further develop our Out-of-Home delivery network around the world, while adapting to local preferences. The outlook for this activity is strong, whether for B2C or C2C solutions, a segment which has been growing fast recently, thanks to innovative products and solutions.
Eric Dietz
EVP and COO Europe of Geopost
We are proud to be hosting the event celebrating this important milestone for our Group in Italy. Our key strengths are the extent of our network, innovation and sustainability, consistent with the buying behaviour of e-shoppers. We will continue to strengthen Out-of-Home delivery because it is one of the options that consumers want when completing a purchase as well as being an important service for businesses. In fact, it can respond both to the need of customers to have more delivery options and to the need of C2C platforms, which are experiencing significant growth.
Stefania Pezzetti
CEO of BRT
(1): 100,000 Pickup points in Europe, incl. 9,400 points in Scandinavia via Geopost’s partnership with PostNord
(2): Geopost’s E‐shopper barometer; survey conducted every year to analyse behaviors and expectations of 25,000 eshoppers