DHL parcel locker option at checkout: cut cart abandonment and boost sales

The right delivery options have a real influence on how people behave when they shop online. The latest figures make this clear: the DHL Global Online Shopper Survey 2023, for example, found that 95% of online shoppers abandon a purchase because their preferred delivery option is not offered. That is reason enough to take a critical look at your own delivery services, with a focus on the growing popularity of the parcel locker, known in Germany as the DHL Packstation.

The study also shows the effects of the declining home-office trend. In recent years that trend meant most shoppers preferred delivery straight to their door. Home delivery is still the most popular option for the majority of online shoppers, but within a single year that figure fell by a full 10 percentage points to 64% in Europe.

At the same time, the share of people who want their parcel left in a safe place at home (22%) or delivered to a parcel locker (14%) is growing. If you want to keep pace with this shift, now is the time to add the DHL Packstation as a delivery option in your shop.

Parcel lockers offers plenty of advantages

By offering delivery to a Packstation, you remove an important reason for cart abandonment with very little effort. When customers find their preferred delivery method in your online shop, the result is not only happier customers but also more revenue, because buyers order more often when they are confident they will receive their goods on the first delivery attempt, even when they are not at home.

Another advantage of the Packstation: as your delivery rate rises, the costs for returns and re-delivery fall. That makes the Packstation an important factor not only for cutting costs, but also for saving CO2 emissions. Multiple delivery attempts, and the unnecessary journeys that come with them, are avoided, and roughly 30% of CO2 emissions on the last mile are saved compared with a standard home delivery.

How to offer parcel lockers with Sendcloud

Adding the DHL Packstation to your shipping process with Sendcloud is quick and straightforward. In just a few steps you can offer your customers this convenient delivery option directly in your online shop. Through the Sendcloud platform you connect your shop to the DHL network of Packstations, so your customers are free to choose a nearby location to pick up their parcels.

Here is how it works:

1. Activate the Packstation option in the shipping-methods section of your Sendcloud account.

2. Connect your shop. Our system integrates with common e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, so you can enable the Packstation as a delivery option without any trouble.

3. Real-time tracking. With Sendcloud you can follow each shipment in real time and notify your customers as soon as their parcel is ready for pickup at the chosen Packstation.

By offering Packstation delivery through Sendcloud, you can reduce cart abandonment, increase customer satisfaction, and promote greener delivery options, all while making the process simpler for you and your team.

Advantages of the Packstation option for online retailers:

• Fewer abandoned carts

• More revenue

• A lower return rate

• More climate-friendly delivery

Advantages of the Packstation option for customers:

• Flexible pickup

• Nationwide availability

• Discreet receipt

• Free registration and free use

• Simple addressing

The rising demand for flexible delivery options, and for the parcel locker in particular, shows clearly that online retailers need to adapt their shipping process to the changing needs of their customers. Adding this option smoothly can not only prevent cart abandonment, but also increase customer satisfaction while reducing both costs and CO2 emissions.

Want to find out more about how Sendcloud works with DHL, or start shipping with DHL? Visit our DHL carrier page.