Irish parcel firm, Nightline, has opened a depot dedicated solely to routing deliveries to its growing network of Parcel Motel terminals, which already have over 150,000 subscribers.
The Parcel Motel service offers users a virtual delivery address and can be used for sending parcels as well as for returns – which are free to some retailers. Last year it handled over 1.5 million parcels.
Eight of Nightline’s 11 sites across the Irish Republic are also going to become alternative parcel pick-up points for subscribers to the Parcel Motel system, expanding the network further.
Ireland is western Europe’s fourth biggest online marketplace, spending some €4.6 billion with internet retailers during 2013 alone, according to Nightline.
Parcel Motel General Manager, Orla Sheils, described the initiative as “a logical response” to the continued increase in e-commerce volumes. “Ireland may not be among Europe’s largest states but its consumers are some of the continent’s most eager online shoppers,” she said. “Parcel Motel was launched in order to provide flexibility, convenience and economy in deliveries of goods bought via the internet.”
The new 30,000 square foot depot will be on Dublin’s North City Business Park and will have three times the number of workstations to process goods for delivery to Parcel Motel lockers than the system had been able to call on at Nightline’s Mygan Park headquarters.
“We have plans to further expand provision in order to ensure that retailers have the ability to fulfill orders without delays even during the pre-Christmas peak – the busiest time of the year,” Sheils continued.
Late last year, Nightline released the findings of research into ecommerce in Ireland, which found men are the dominant force when it comes to online shopping.
The research found that men admitted spending an average of €1,259.59 in the course of the preceding 12 months, compared to the €1,010.54 paid by women for their online purchases during the same period of time.
John Tuohy, Nightline’s CEO (pictured above), said: “It came as something of a surprise to learn that the idea of women being the more regular, and bigger, spenders online would appear to be a myth. We’re not just talking about high value – or so-called ‘big ticket’ – items tipping the balance in favour of men’s wallets, but the frequency with which they’re buying ‘phones, games consoles, clothes and sports goods.
“What was just as eye-opening, though, is the fact that it’s possible to track the various stages of people’s lives through their purchases. When they’re younger, they’re buying games and casual clothes, whereas cosmetics, accessories, fashion and lingerie dominate as they grow up and their tastes become more refined. As they build a home and a family, their buying patterns reflect how they have become more settled and, finally, they tend to indulge in products for the home after their children leave the nest.”
