“Airbnb of fashion”: online store uses people’s homes as pick-up points

Zalando, one of Europe’s biggest online fashion stores, is testing a service in which private persons offer their homes as pick-up and drop-off locations for parcels. Self-employed people, retirees, stay-at-home parents and other people who spend much of the day at home can earn some extra money that way.

The service is currently being tested by Zalando and PostNord, its carrier in Scandinavia, with 50 households in the Danish cities of Aarhus and Copenhagen. In addition to offering more convenience to shoppers, the two companies argued that the new delivery model will reduce Zalando’s environmental impact by up to 50 grams per package, as orders will be bundled to fewer addresses, leading PostNord to use fewer and more efficient delivery routes.

“Testing is part of Zalando’s DNA. We continuously innovate and rethink our services to offer our customers more flexibility and variety”, explained Zalando’s Lead for the Logistics Platform Services, Remko Bakker, in a statement.

Six months ago, Zalando tested a smart home technology in Belgium to allow customers to open their doors remotely for parcel delivery services when they are not home.