Zara installs automatic parcel machines in shops

Zara is currently testing automatic parcel machines in its stores in Germany: in their flagship store in Hamburg, there is room for as many as 700 parcels. The fashion chain’s aim, is to encourage click&collect.

Only 15 seconds

The Zara flagship store in Hamburg now has an automatic parcel machine installed. It is the first of its kind in Germany for the retailer, who has already previously installed lockers for the collection of online orders at branches in Paris, Madrid, London and elsewhere.

The new automated machine in Hamburg is no ordinary parcel depot, however, for the machine is fully installed behind a wall in the shop and offers enough space for 700 parcels. It took two months to convert the shop, with the sales area of the flagship store being subsequently reduced in size. 

The advantage is that in only 15 seconds, the machine delivers its parcel, meaning customers no longer have to wait at cash tills to pick up clothes that they have ordered via click&collect. There is even a special room on the first floor designated just for collections, according to ‘Textilwirtschaft’. However, given its location inside of the store, the automated machine can only be reached during opening hours.

Using stores for e-commerce

The decision to locate this machine in Hamburg is perhaps not a simple coincidence, since the German headquarters of its parent company, Inditex, are located just a stone’s throw away. It therefore seems likely that the results of the machine will be closely monitored before a further roll-out is considered.

Inditex has clear ambitions in the field of e-commerce: online is currently the strongest growth area and the Spanish company has set itself the goal of having an online presence in all countries by 2020 for all brands in the group, even if there are no physical stores. 

Using a physical store to facilitate click&collect is, nevertheless, a way of reducing the high costs of logistics associated with e-commerce, which is why the fashion group offers free delivery to those customers who choose to pick up items in the store.