Parcel volumes in Belgium soared to record levels during the strict Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, with more use of parcel drop-off and collection points and lockers than ever, according to bpost.
In response, the postal group plans to add 100 more lockers to its existing 250 locations during the rest of this year.
Last month bpost already announced a 26% surge in parcel volumes in March, pushing up overall Q1 numbers by 20.5%.
Today the Belgian postal group said that it handled and delivered up to 500,000 parcels per day on the busiest days of March, April and May, double the parcel volume over the same period in 2019.
“Throughout the lockdown, although Belgian society was simply ticking over, all citizens have been able to count on the stability of the services across the bpost networks, from postal staff to post offices, Post Points, Parcel Points and Parcel Stations,” the company stated.
“These networks, which are growing all the time, enable us to meet the demands and expectations of customers, who always find a bpost service point close to them.”
Bpost emphasised that this “exceptional result” was achieved thanks to the engagement of all bpost employees and partners, including postal delivery staff who complied with all necessary safety measures.
All Belgian post offices remained open with revised working hours during the strict lockdown period (March – May) and handled an exceptional 70% rise in the number of customer parcel drops at post office counters compared with the same period in 2019.
At the same time, 90% of the 660 Post Points, which are operated by retail partners, also stayed open and registered almost 40% more parcel drops. A high 80% of the retailers said they would sign up again for this bpost service.
In addition, the 750 Kariboo! points, which were rebranded as Parcel Points at the beginning of May, have also done strong business since mid-March. There was a 37% rise in the number of parcel drops in the three-month period (March – May), compared with the average for January and February 2020.
Finally, bpost’s 250 parcel lockers, which were rebranded from Cubee to Parcel Stations in May, also proved to be more and more successful. Drop-off volumes have nearly doubled over the last few months.
In response, the company plans to open an additional hundred lockers or so by the end of the year, with an average of two every week.
“This growth is driven by the burgeoning success of these lockers to deliver and send parcels among customers that value their proximity, accessibility (24/7) and low environmental impact,” bpost underlined.
