Rapid growth in the out-of-home parcel market: DPD Switzerland is partnering with Valora and adding 700 prime locations to its pickup network

Buchs, July 2024. DPD Switzerland and foodvenience provider Valora have entered into a strategic partnership for out-of-home parcel services. Parcels can also be collected, dropped off or returned at over 700 kiosks, filling stations, avec shops and Press & Books branches throughout Switzerland. In doing so, the two companies are responding to changing consumer needs. After all, DPD survey data show that more and more people prefer flexible delivery to convenient locations over home delivery.

Through its partnership with Valora, DPD will be able to expand its out-of-home delivery network to over 1’000 locations throughout Switzerland by the end of July 2024. The additional pickup points will be integrated in shops and shops at highly frequented spots in prime locations. Many have long opening hours and some are even open on Sundays. To enable shipments to be processed efficiently at the checkout, Valora has integrated the DPD application directly into its checkout system. Consignees can reroute the order themselves to a conveniently located DPD Pickup parcelshop. If the delivery drivers find nobody at home and are unable to leave the parcel, they can deposit it at a nearby DPD Pickup parcelshop.

40 per cent of all parcels are delivered out of home

The expansion of the out-of-home (OOH) network is on trend, as representative survey data from DPD’s E-Shopper Barometer show. Fewer and fewer Swiss people are receiving their online purchases at home and are collecting them from shops, parcel shops or automatic lockers instead. The proportion of people who have their parcels delivered primarily to their home address has fallen from 87 to 58 per cent in Switzerland over the past five years. In 2022, 24 per cent of all shipments went to OOH sites. By 2023, this figure had already risen to 38 per cent.

Interest in pickup points in retail outlets has grown in particular. 16 per cent of Swiss online shoppers regularly collect their orders there. In 2022, the figure was 7 per cent. A good quarter of all returns are now handled by retail outlets. The shop on the corner is also becoming increasingly popular with users of online marketplaces: 20 per cent of C2C e-commerce now takes place via retail outlets.

Large out-of-home networks at an advantage

Through its parent company Geopost, DPD Switzerland is integrated into a pan-European OOH network with 110’000 locations. The aim is for all customers in 28 European countries to be able to reach a DPD Pickup parcelshop within 15 minutes. Today, 95 per cent of the target has already been met. The dense OOH network has advantages for consumers, as they can pick up their order at a flexible time. Retailers benefit from the lower costs of bundled delivery. In addition, OOH deliveries reduce traffic and, in turn, noise and emissions on the last mile.

The E-Shopper Barometer also paints a clear picture of users of OOH locations in Switzerland. They are 35 years old on average and live in urban areas. Only 10 per cent of OOH customers are 50 or older. The gender balance is relatively even, with women tending to prefer pickup points.

‘I am delighted that, in Valora, we have found the ideal partner to implement our out-of-home strategy. The excellent locations throughout Switzerland, the long opening hours and the innovative applications are central to the joint development of an OOH network that meets a growing customer need: to receive and drop off parcels where and when you want,’ says Claudio Bichsel, Head of Customer Relation & Pickup DPD (Schweiz) AG.