manage holiday deliveries

Every year, the holiday season causes a huge spike in online shopping and package deliveries. Since the majority of shoppers prefer to order gifts online rather than buying in stores, is your building prepared to manage holiday deliveries? Read on to see what you can do to prep your building for the rush of package deliveries on Black Friday and beyond.

You’ll learn: 

 

How online shopping trends lead to more package deliveries

Even before 2020, there was already an unprecedented shift towards online shopping with the invention of delivery services like GrubHub and Amazon Prime. However, ecommerce grew dramatically during the pandemic.

The sharpest increase in online shopping occurred between mid-March and late April 2020, with a whopping 160% year-over-year increase from April 19th to 25th. Overall, two-thirds of shoppers increased their online shopping because of COVID-19. And virtually every industry has experienced a spike in digital orders — especially supermarkets and groceries.

 

online shopping on laptop

 

More online shoppers mean more package deliveries

Since the 1940’s, Black Friday and the holiday season have brought increased shipping and delivery demands.

Every property manager can agree that package deliveries create a lot of work — especially in large buildings. As online shopping skyrockets during the holiday season, you and your staff are tasked with tackling a growing mountain of packages each day.

To accommodate Black Friday holiday deliveries, you need a package management solution that:

  • Facilitates faster package intake and distribution
  • Keeps packages safe for residents
  • Is efficient and doesn’t take up too much of your front desk staff’s time

So, the best way to manage deliveries is with a package room.

 

manage holiday deliveries to prevent porch pirates

 

5 ways to manage holiday deliveries with a package room

Whether it’s efficient or not, you probably have some process in place to accept and store your residents’ packages. Maybe you have a front desk attendant who accepts and sorts daily deliveries. Or maybe you just let the delivery person leave packages in an unlocked vestibule.

You might even be trying to decide between a package locker and a package room.

Regardless of your building’s current procedure, replacing it with a package room will improve the process.

Here are six ways a package room facilitates streamlined holiday deliveries at multifamily buildings:

  1. Provides a storage solution
  2. Saves the building attendant’s time
  3. Prevents residents from waiting for package processing
  4. Automates notifications to residents
  5. Enables contactless deliveries
  6. Prevents package theft

 

1. Provides a storage solution

These days, people order everything online, from clothing to groceries to furniture. But where are you supposed to store the new sofa your resident just ordered? Where do you put all 20 gift boxes that just arrived for your resident’s entire extended family?

A package room solves the storage problem that plagues so many multifamily buildings.

There’s a good chance you already have a spare room in your building that would be perfect for package storage. So, transform that extra supply room or that unused office into a package room.

Setting up your package room doesn’t require much effort — all you need is:

  • A video intercom to manage your property’s access control holiday schedule
  • Shelving
  • Power and internet access for security systems like electronic locks and cameras

 

package room with smart intercom

 

2. Saves the building attendant’s time

Manually accepting and distributing packages to residents takes a long time.

Letting staff manage package delivery requires them to:

  • Sign for every package
  • Track who has received a package
  • Move packages into an office or mail room
  • Retrieve the correct packages when a resident comes to pick them up

Depending on the size of your building and the number of packages you receive, this process could take anywhere from several hours to several days. The time lost to processing packages could be better spent on more important tasks, like welcoming new residents and maintaining building security.

 

3. Prevents residents from waiting for package processing

Not only does package processing take up your staff’s time, but it also keeps residents waiting hours or even days to receive their packages. Long wait times frustrate residents and building staff. If your building has a package room, residents can pick up parcels immediately after delivery without the building staff’s involvement.

Additionally, if you close your mailroom or front desk at a certain time, residents may not be able to pick up their packages during your business hours. For example, if your building attendant leaves and locks up at 7:00 pm, residents who work late might be stuck waiting until the next day to get their packages.

 

4. Automatically notifies residents

The proptech that powers a package room enables you to send automated alerts to residents. When you install a ButterflyMX package room, delivery drivers use the intercom’s directory to select which residents they have packages for. This process triggers an automatic notification to each resident through the ButterflyMX mobile app.

When the resident gets a push notification on their smartphone, they’ll know they’ve received a package. Plus, since the notifications are automated, your building staff won’t have to bother alerting residents of their delivery.

 

5. Enables contactless deliveries

A ButterflyMX package room enables contactless building entry for delivery carriers.

When the courier approaches the building, they use their unique delivery PIN to gain access. If they don’t have a delivery PIN, they simply call the leasing office or the resident using the intercom. Whoever they call can remotely grant property access to the courier from wherever they are — no one will have to leave their home or office to open the door.

Once inside the building, the courier uses the same method at the package room to open the door and place packages safely inside.

Contactless deliveries are:

  • Safer because they reduce the spread of germs through person-to-person contact. Your residents will be happier and healthier when they aren’t exposed to illnesses like the flu, common cold, and even COVID-19.
  • More convenient because the courier can access the building and leave packages safely without assistance from staff and residents.

 

6. Prevents package theft

In 2018, about 31% of people had a package stolen during the holiday season. Porch pirates are savvy — they know package deliveries increase around the holidays. November and December are prime months for package theft. So what can you do to combat it?

The best solution is to make sure thieves can’t access delivered packages. That means securing packages in a safe, locked space. Package rooms are the perfect place to store deliveries away from potential porch pirates.

A smart video intercom system lets you keep the building’s front door locked while ensuring couriers can still get inside. Using a package room adds an extra layer of security, keeping packages safe from building visitors and your residents’ guests.

 

Now that you know how to manage deliveries with a package room, discover how much you could save by adding a package room to your building. Use our helpful package calculator to find out:

Package Management

Author

Johanna Gruber

Based in Los Angeles, I enjoy learning and writing about the real estate industry, and exploring how proptech can help people live and work better.