Parcel option allows choice of post offices
Canada Post is launching a new feature that gives online shoppers greater control over their parcels.
The postal service said Wednesday that FlexDelivery will allow customers to decide exactly which post office receives the delivery of their online order. That means a pair of shoes once mailed to your home while you were still at work can now be routed to an outlet near your office or elsewhere.
Canada Post said consumers will need to register for a unique identification code on their website before selecting which post offices they want to go to pick up their items.
Users will then receive a unique FlexDelivery address which substitutes for their traditional mailing address. When the online order arrives at the post office of choice, the user will receive an email notification.
FlexDelivery is launching as Canada Post looks for ways to stay competitive with retailers who are launching an array of new shopping choices, such as parcel lockers inside their stores.
The new option could also help the postal service contain its costs. About a third of households have nobody home when Canada Post tries to deliver a parcel, which results in the package being further routed to the nearest post office, it said.
Canada Post says about 6,000 post offices across the country will participate in the FlexDelivery option.
On Wednesday, Best Buy announced a new online marketplace that allows small retailers to list their products on the electronics retailer’s website. Shoppers will then be able to pick up their merchandise at one of the company’s 192 Canadian stores.