As forecourt retailers look beyond fuel to attract and retain customers, parcel lockers are emerging as a high-impact, multi-use service that drives footfall, caters to evolving shopping habits, and unlocks new revenue opportunities.
The UK’s forecourt sector is increasingly serving a purpose far beyond simply providing fuel. According to Lumina Intelligence, forecourt retailers now fulfil nearly four million weekly missions as shoppers visit to grab lunch on-the-go or pick up some last-minute essentials. But with the likes of food and drink now a baseline expectation, retailers increasingly need to find additional services that provide a competitive edge.
Parcel lockers can provide a clear point of differentiation – a fast, convenient way for people to pick up and return online orders as part of their daily routine. And their popularity is growing, with the rise of digital and second-hand marketplaces bringing in a new wave of users. With 68% of Gen Z and millennials having bought or sold second-hand clothes in the past year, this is a sizeable, digital-first demographic actively seeking out parcel drop-off points – one that forecourts can easily cater for with the right setup.
So, to what extent are operators really taking advantage of the growing opportunity when it comes to parcel lockers?
’Shake-up’
A big shift in the popularity of parcel lockers is something that many forecourt retailers have witnessed first-hand. Quadient is seeing its lockers used for everything from Evri, UPS, DPD and Royal Mail parcels to temporary luggage storage for travellers to exchanging Airbnb keys at the start and end of holidays, explains Lee Graham, sales director for Europe (Lockers) at Quadient. This ever-growing list of use cases exemplifies how integral such a service has become.
This versatility is proving crucial as new trends in consumer behaviour reshape the retail landscape, especially the increasing popularity of second-hand marketplaces. “We want to become the ultimate convenience destination and, with the way trends are changing in shopping, there’s huge demand for getting parcels shipped around the country,” adds Rob Massey, regional manager at Penny on the Move. “Vinted came out of nowhere in the last couple of years and really incentivises certain delivery methods, so it’s about reacting to that change and giving people who perhaps work 9-5 the chance to ship or collect parcels without having to go to a Post Office counter.”
”There is a misconception that consumers aren’t that interested in parcel lockers and it’s just a ‘nice-to-have’ for a forecourt location. But that has been flipped on its head in the last six to 12 months”
- Lee Graham, sales director for Europe (Lockers), Quadient
The demand from second-hand sellers is clear. More than half of people in the UK (55%) have bought a second-hand item on the likes of Vinted, Depop and eBay in the last 12 months, according to a 2024 report by Evri, and nearly as many (47%) have put items up for sale, be it unwanted fashion, accessories or even Christmas gifts. And with drop-off and collection at parcel lockers often faster and more convenient than over-the-counter alternatives, providing this pre-loved cohort with flexible access can be a crucial point of differentiation for the UK’s forecourts.
Without a parcel locker on-site, forecourt retailers are now at risk of losing business to a competitor down the road, Graham believes. “There’s a misconception that consumers aren’t that interested in parcel lockers and it’s just a ‘nice-to-have’ for a forecourt location,” he says. “But that’s been flipped on its head in the last six to 12 months, thanks to the rise of social commerce platforms and low-cost online marketplaces from the Far East.”
The benefits go far beyond straightforward footfall too. People who drop by to use a parcel locker up to multiple times per week will start to notice and make use of additional services at that site, points out Graham. “One day they’ll pull up to collect a parcel, check their fuel gauge - and fill up by convenience alone. The next time they go, they’ll make use of the Costa coffee machine. The likelihood of a halo spend goes up from zero to fairly significant.”
Doubling up
Convinced by the strength of the parcel locker proposition, more and more leading forecourts are embracing the opportunity by expanding services across their network. In many cases, that has meant introducing not one, but two lockers at certain sites.
“It’s another misconception to think that if you have a parcel locker supplier already, you’ve completed the game,” says Graham. “That’s just not the case. Having a locker from one provider doesn’t mean you’ve covered the whole market. If your locker only supports one carrier, you’re only attracting one demographic of customer. By adding another provider, you can open the door to multiple services and use cases, from deliveries and returns for more major carriers to things like luggage storage and key exchange.”
Of the four postal carriers that use Parcel Pending by Quadient, for example, Evri leans toward lower-cost items, whereas UPS specialises in far bigger-ticket packages with specified delivery and collection times. “That means the two tend to have a wildly different demographic,” Graham adds.
Whether it’s thinking carefully about size, position or expanding to more than one locker, the bottom line is forecourt retailers need to be considering how to go above and beyond when it comes to meeting the growing demand among today’s parcel locker users.
“The potential of postal services is far from exhausted,” points out Martina Larisch Di Rocco, senior insight manager at Lumina Intelligence. “In fact, one in five forecourt operators report that the use of parcel services has increased within the past year.
”This trend is particularly encouraging for retailers, as it brings in footfall that might not otherwise occur, enhancing the overall customer experience, especially for time-pressed consumers. The rise of platforms like Vinted is playing a significant role here, offering benefits not just for shoppers, but also for the environment and retail businesses alike.”
If you’d like to find out more information or are interested in hosting a Parcel Pending by Quadient locker, click here.
