bpost In-Home Delivery

In the summer of 2017, Zalando and bpost partnered to test delivery and pick-up services inside customers’ homes, when they are not at home. We designed and tested a new service in Antwerp, which was then fully commercialized at bpost as a standard offering. 

The project was selected for the “Last Mile Innovation of the Year” award by the International Post & Parcel.

Zalando wanted to solve the problem of missing parcel deliveries, and to make returns easier for shoppers. 

We mapped the customer journey, and decided on a service model to test. Our main service design goals were to create an experience people control, and can trust.

We tested several types of “smart door” technology, and decided to take a platform-neutral role, so bpost could accommodate whatever technology the customer is already using. Fifteen families in the Antwerp area agreed to have the technology installed, and to allow us to delivery parcels inside their homes when not home. 

We spent a month hand-delivering Zalando packages and surveying the reactions of the testers. We also conducted additional interviews, and a quantitative survey to confirm our qualitative results. 

The experiment was a huge success, with nearly all participants wishing to continue the service, and 60% of the Flanders market saying they would try it. We commercialised the service in bpost operations, and soon it will be available to request in the bpost app.