A Smartpost locker located in your own Lumo building is almost like having a post office in your property. It can be used for delivering and returning items bought online as well as sending and picking up other parcels.

Prior to this autumn, Posti’s Smartpost parcel lockers were piloted for about two years at two Lumo buildings in Helsinki, at Hernesaarenkatu 17 and Koirasaarentie 23. At the end of the year, Smartpost parcel lockers will be installed in 16 new Lumo buildings in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

“The buildings that will have the new Smartpost parcel lockers are located in Helsinki and Vantaa. We aim to have them installed by the end of November so that tenants can use them for Christmas shopping during the busy holiday season,” says Customer Account Manager Pekka Kivistö from Kojamo.

Smartpost lockers can be used to send and receive postal parcels and run many errands that make life easier: through the parcel locker you can send clothes to the cleaner’s, shoes to the shoemaker’s and your mobile to be fixed as well as order a bag of groceries from the shop or meals from a restaurant.

According to Ville Vasaramäki, Head of eCommerce Concepts at Posti, the service is simple and easy to use.

“Instructions for using the service are available online and posted on the parcel locker itself. When you order products online, you can choose to have them delivered to the Smartpost parcel locker in your building when the online shop asks you to specify the delivery location. When the item is delivered, the addressee receives a text message, an e-mail message and a notification in the OmaPosti application. The messages include a code for opening the specified locker.

Information on the Smartpost lockers at Lumo buildings has already been distributed to the largest online retailers. Even if an online store does not have the parcel locker listed, there is a way to get the items delivered there.

“You simply type in your home address and enter the number four (4) as the last digit of the post code. The system will then find the correct parcel locker for the delivery. Tenants are also provided with detailed instructions on how to use the parcel lockers,” Vasaramäki explains.

According to a usage survey conducted by Posti, more than 65 per cent of the respondents would recommend a Smartpost locker in the lobby of their apartment building. The parcel lockers are mostly used to collect online shopping. They also provide a convenient way for making returns.

“People should keep in mind that Smartpost lockers can be used for both receiving and sending. Nowadays, many people order clothes so that they can try on different sizes or colours, for instance. This also means many returns. In addition, peer-to-peer online shopping is growing. Parcel lockers are an easy way to send old clothes and books to their new owners,” Vasaramäki points out.

Smartpost parcel lockers do not consume electricity at the property and they are not dependent on the building’s internet connection. Each of the Smartpost lockers is connected by radio network that indicates whether the locker is currently occupied and when the item was picked up. Posti employees inspect the condition of the lockers when they deliver and pick up parcels.

“It’s like having a post office in your building. It gives access to almost all of the postal services you might need. The only exception is postcards and letters, which you still need to drop off at a collection box,” Vasaramäki says.

Pekka Kivistö sees Smartpost parcel lockers as a natural addition to the range of services offered at Lumo buildings. The goal is to make housing and daily life as smooth and convenient as possible.

“Parcel lockers are one aspect of high-quality urban housing, which is what we want to offer to the tenants of Lumo homes. Online shopping is a growing trend, so why not make it easy for our tenants,” Kivistö points out.

The parcel lockers at Lumo buildings have not been the subject of a dedicated user survey as of yet, but a survey will be carried out once the new users have had the chance to familiarise themselves with the service. The service will then be developed further based on their responses. It is also possible that more parcel lockers will be introduced at Lumo buildings in the future.

“We’re keeping an eye on the situation. I think this is the future. When the Smartpost concept is expanded, we’ll see what our next move is,” Kivistö concludes.