With Amazon expanding its Australian distribution network and carving out a larger share of the Australian retail market the international retail giant has announced a new network of Australian parcel collection locations. The Amazon Hub program will see hundreds of Parcel Lockers and Counter pick-up locations open across Australia over the coming year.
With Black Friday just a few days away, Amazon doesn’t want you to have to wait for all of the new lockers and pick up counters with over a hundred locations already operating now. I did a quick search for my closest pick-up locations and found 5 options all within my normal travel route, and one at my local shopping centre. Perfect!
Amazon customers can select an Amazon Hub location from the checkout and have the parcel left for collection at no extra charge if you are using either Free, Expedited Delivery and Standard Delivery, and of course Prime Members get free shipping on most orders anyway.
While the parcel lockers are somewhat limited at the moment, the pick-up counters are well distributed from what we could see. There’s no doubt that Amazon will continue to reduce customer friction for online shopping, which may be good for the individual consumer but may have undesirable effects on of small Australian businesses that simply can’t compete with one of the largest corporations on the planet.
