eBay and Woolworths have launched a new pilot ‘Parcel Drop-Off’ service, which will be available in five Woolworths supermarkets across Sydney.
Local eBay sellers will be able to drop off a sold item at a Woolworths store and have it shipped by CouriersPlease directly to their buyer.
Woolworths Lane Cove, Neutral Bay Village, Northbridge, Double Bay and Balgowlah have been selected to take part in the Parcel Drop-Off pilot.
With a fixed delivery price model, the new ‘Parcel Drop-Off’ service is priced to compete with traditional shipping methods and takes away the hassle of working out postage costs and only being able to post parcels during business hours.
Steve Brennen, senior director marketing and retail innovation at eBay, said: “When we launched our click and collect partnership with Woolworths one year ago we shook up the industry by allowing smaller sellers and their customers to take advantage of extra convenience and efficiency. Now we’re using our expertise to remove some of the friction involved in selling too.
“We see this as the natural extension of a partnership that has exceeded expectations to date. The click and collect partnership has rolled out nationally eight months ahead of schedule with more than 10,000 sellers now taking advantage of the program that has sent an additional 200,000 shoppers into a Woolworths or BIG W store.”
Tom Windeyer, head of marketplace at Woolworths, said: “To date, over 200,000 customers have picked up their eBay parcels in our stores, giving them a more convenient and easy shopping experience. Parcel Drop-Off is just another way we are able to help our customers with convenient solutions that suit their individual lifestyles.”
Earlier this year Woolworths began trialling a click and collect service at Bondi Junction train station in Sydney as part of a new initiative in partnership with Sydney Trains.
The trial allows customers to shop online and pick up their groceries from specially designed lockers at Bondi Junction. The locker-based system is a free service, however, orders must be a minimum of $30. To keep food fresh, there are refrigerated lockers for items that need to be chilled and freezer lockers for frozen items.