Delivery company ByBox, which has pioneered delivery to electronic lockers, is investing £2m to expand its network of collection lockers, the company announced today.
New banks of lockers will now be offered at locations including railway stations, following a deal with Network Rail, following a trial of myByBox drop boxes at Victoria Station. Initially the new lockers will mostly be within the M25 area, near London. Lockers are expected to be installed at 100 locations within the M25, with 150 more to be added across the UK and taking the company to a total of 500 locker banks aimed at consumers.
The news comes as ByBox strengthens its team to focus on business development in online services. The company, which started out by organising deliveries for field service technicians, has already taken on business development staff with retail expertise and is now searching for a director of consumer services. This comes, it says, in recognition that “the consumer market is now ready for change,” adding: “ByBox is preparing to capitalise on emerging demand.”
Stuart Miller, chief executive and co-founder of ByBox, said: “The traditional delivery model that concentrates deliveries Monday to Friday, with premium charges for next day delivery, is outdated and needs to change.
“Consumers can now shop around the clock, ordering goods on smartphones while they are on the move. They have busy lives, want quick results and appreciate the flexibility that myByBox gives them.
“They do not want to wait in for a delivery that may take hours to arrive, or not appear at all. ByBox has revolutionised the field service market – now we are going to revolutionise home shopping.
“The fact that Amazon is reportedly looking to establish banks of drop boxes in major shopping centres only underlines the fact that there is growing demand for change from consumers.
“Our core consumer service, myByBox, allows shoppers to use our drop boxes with any retailer, including Amazon, creating a host of opportunities for both the consumer and retailer alike.”
ByBox already delivers 20 million parcels a year to its expanding network of 18,000 drop boxes in 1,350 locations across the UK. It has grown to a £44 million turnover since it was founded in 2000 and now employs 250 people.
Its model is to deliver parcels overnight, ready for collection from 8am onwards. Online shoppers receive a simple message when their parcel has arrived in the ByBox locker, along with a code for its retrieval. They can then go to collect it whenever they want.
The company claims a 99.63% delivery rate across 2010. Figleaves.co.uk offers customers the option of free next-day delivery to a ByBox location 365 days a year, and last Christmas found that some even elected to collect their parcels as late as Christmas Day.
Miller added: “We want to provide a service for people who love internet shopping but hate waiting in for parcels. It’s as simple as that.”
