Out-of-home and eCommerce delivery company InPost has today announced a new partnership with UK retailer WHSmith, a staple of British high streets.
The partnership — which marks InPost’s first national indoor proposition — will see InPost Lockers deployed in WHSmith High Street stores across the UK, complementing the brand’s existing range of services on offer to customers.
Lockers provide customers with the ultimate choice and convenience; InPost’s own research finds that 64% of its customers use lockers as part of another journey1. WHSmith customers will now be able to “trip-twin”, combining collecting, sending, or returning parcels with shopping for bestselling books, stocking up on stationery or home office essentials, or picking up a newspaper or magazine.
The partnership will aim to positively impact high street footfall, whilst also reducing local last-mile deliveries. In fact, 50% of InPost users go on to visit nearby shops and the majority (86%) of these, make a purchase. Additionally, collecting at parcel lockers has the potential to lower carbon emissions by two thirds compared to home deliveries, contributing to the development of greener communities and the reduction of traffic congestion.
Gavin Brice, Locations Director at InPost UK, commented: “We are rapidly growing our network of 3,500+ parcel lockers in the UK, and our partnership with WHSmith marks another milestone for our business. At InPost, we know that people are constantly looking for convenient and hassle-free services that fit around their busy lives and save them time. By joining forces with WHSmith, we are providing shoppers across the country with unparalleled convenience when it comes to collecting and returning their online orders or sending parcels. By taking vans off the roads, our lockers can also reduce emissions in local areas, helping to create greener communities.”
Ian Sanders, Group Commercial Development Director, WHSmith added: “At WHSmith, customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do, so we are excited to partner with InPost and introduce their parcel lockers into our High Street stores across the UK, providing a valuable and convenient service to our communities. InPost Lockers will help us offer our customers a convenient and accessible way to pick up, send and return their parcels as part of their daily routines when they come to our high street locations. We look forward to working with InPost to elevate our in-store proposition.”
This announcement follows InPost’s successful partnerships with other landlords including Westfield, Tesco and TfL – evidencing InPost’s growing presence across the UK.
