- Mike Parra, CEO of
DHL Express Americas, says the norm of signing for your packages may vanish forever. - That vanishing will become more noticeable as the pandemic accelerates the shift toward more online shopping.
- But customers will still likely need to be present for the dropping off of some packages — even if there's no physical sign off.
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The coronavirus pandemic is set to change everyday life in unusual ways — potentially normalizing tracksuits at the office, video dating, and even more online shopping.
How we get our packages will change too, according to Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express Americas. DHL Express is the parcel and express-mail division of Deutsche Post DHL, which is the world's largest logistics company based in Germany.
Since the outset of the coronavirus, delivery drivers haven't asked customers to sign off on packages. Instead, they'll say hello from six feet away or farther and drop off the goods.
Previously, some deliveries required a sign off. Parra thinks that norm is done.
"I think we're going to see many customers say to us that they like the no-contact delivery and they will want that to continue," Parra told Business Insider.
"Basically, we're not giving them a scanner, having them use a pen, having them sign on our scanner, and then returning the scanner back to us," Parra added. "I think that is probably something that will never return, from what I am seeing."
A consumer preference toward less contact may be tricky for parcel companies like DHL to navigate. While signing off on packages is a nuisance for many customers, it also ensures sensitive goods end up in the right hands.
Among those orders that don't require a sign off right now, and are simply left on the consumers' door step, 1.7 million packages are lost every day in the US, according to data from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. That means more than one in 10 packages are vanishing "without explanation."
How DHL is currently managing "no contact" delivery still requires that extra step of the driver knowing that whoever is answering the door is the intended recipient. Being at home on time for your package may be frustrating for some, but, as the coronavirus accelerates customers' preference to buy essential goods or valuables online, it's not likely that portion of the drop-off process will ever completely vanish.
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