Online retail giant Amazon plans to set up a network of parcel lockers across Europe to enable people to pick up orders, as it seeks to widen delivery options and cut costs. The company already provides this service in the US and Britain, in places like shopping centres where customers key in a code to access their parcel.

And its Amazon Studios will start delivering movies exclusively to Amazon Prime members  later this year, starting with a new Woody Allen romcom set in the 1930s.

Amazon, known for its thin margins, is facing competition from traditional retailers with a range of delivery options, including collecting goods in-store. A locker network in Europe would be the equivalent to such retailers’ ‘click and collect’ option and would help chop the company’s burgeoning delivery bill.

Amazon's shipping costs grew more than 18% to $11.5 billion last year, a significant jump. The last mile of delivery is usually the most expensive stretch of a package's journey from retail warehouse to customer, and is becoming increasingly important as shoppers expect cheaper, faster delivery.

Amazon Locker

Recent job adverts placed by Amazon suggest a major drive to introduce Amazon Locker this side of the Atlantic. The new jobs include business development manager roles for Amazon Locker in Munich and Paris, EU technical operations manager based in Luxembourg, and network development manager roles in Luxembourg, Munich and Paris.

In Association with

There’s no indication yet that the service will come to Ireland, which must be something of a relief for outfits like Parcel Motel and Parcel Wizard, which provide UK virtual addresses for Irish customers ordering from Britain and, in the case of Parcel Motel, a network of handy collection points around the country.

Amazon is introducing another ‘delivery option’ for film via its Amazon Studios division. It has acquired North American rights to Woody Allen’s latest movie, a romantic comedy starring Steve Carell and Jeannie Berlin,  and plans to combine a traditional cinema release with subsequent availability on Amazon Prime Video, its audiovisual streaming service. Only Prime members will be able to view the movie once its initial theatrical run is ended.