When a Posti Smartpost parcel locker was installed at Tuulensuunkuja 3 in Helsinki at the turn of the year, Marja Lumio started using it right away. She often buys things online, but she had previously used a parcel locker close to her workplace to pick up her deliveries or gone to her local post office, which is about one kilometre from her home.

“My online shopping tends to be somewhat seasonal, but I buy things a few times a month on average: cosmetics, clothes, books and various interior decoration items. Instead of going to crowded department stores, I usually find the same promotions in their online shops and place orders from the comfort of my home,” Lumio explains.

The Smartpost parcel locker at the Lumo building on Tuulensuunkuja is on the top floor, making it easy to access from the apartments at any time of the day, without having to put a coat on. The parcel locker is in a club room accessible by the same master key as the other common areas, such as the laundry room and sauna.

“The nearest post office is less than a kilometre away, but now even that feels long,” Lumio says.

Picking up parcels from the locker is easy. When a parcel is delivered, the addressee is notified by e-mail and SMS. The notification message indicates the locker number and an access code for opening it.

During the three months that it has been in use, Lumio has also taken advantage of the Smartpost locker to return a parcel.

“To make the return, I went on the Posti website and reserved a locker of the right size using the tracking code the parcel was originally delivered under. Posti then sent me an SMS with a code to open the locker so I could deposit the parcel in the locker for pick-up. When the parcel had been returned to the sender, I received a notification message in my e-mail. Other than that, I haven’t used the Smartpost locker to send any parcels yet,” Lumio adds.

Lumio also sees herself potentially using Smartpost for meal deliveries or to send a dress to a laundry service, for example.

As the Tuulensuunkuja parcel locker does not appear in the list of possible delivery locations in some online stores, Lumio has used the My Pickup Point service on the Posti website to ensure that all of her parcels are delivered to the Smartpost locker in her building. Her recommendation to the building’s other tenants is to familiarise themselves with the Smartpost service by visiting the Posti website if they haven’t used the parcel locker before.

Lumio uses online stores to make her daily life easier and avoid having to go around physically visiting shops. She also sees herself potentially using Smartpost for meal deliveries or to send a dress to a laundry service, for example. Meal deliveries would make it easier to work from home on some days. Some online shops offer free deliveries, which means that buying items online is no more expensive than shopping in a physical store.

“I try to only buy things that I want or need. For example, I don’t systematically order clothes in several different sizes to try them on at home. That said, I do find that clothing needs to be returned more often than other types of products. Buying shoes online is especially difficult, because you really should try them on first. But I have bought shoes online before and they turned out to be just fine.

She hasn’t heard any comments about the parcel locker from the building’s other residents as of yet, but she thinks she is not the only one who uses the service — even if she is the most active.

“I wrote a post on the Facebook page for the building’s residents when the parcel locker went into service. My post got some likes and I once saw another tenant carrying a parcel near the Smartposti locker, so there are other users here besides me. It’s a service I’m prepared to recommend to everyone.