Consignia drop box delivery plan delayed by poor take-up

CONSIGNIA, which is expected to rename itself the Post Office, has decided to delay introducing a drop box home delivery service because of poor take-up. Drop boxes were meant to provide the perfect solution to the problem of getting a package delivery at home, without having to wait in all day. Instead, a secure box would be attached outside and items left inside then retrieved using an access code. Consignia has tested five different designs and the company says that while the boxes have mostly performed well, the take-up has been too limited to introduce a service yet. Nigel Moore, marketing director for Consignia’s home-shopping division, said: “Consumers are still unsure about delivery boxes. Intuitively, it is a very logical idea, but consumer acceptance is taking longer than expected.” He said trials would continue, especially of “box banks”, a concept similar to left-luggage locations. Meanwhile, Consignia is looking at other delivery improvements. The optional evening time slot between 5pm and 9pm, introduced last year, has been successful but volumes are still relatively low, so Consignia has plans for more convenient two-hour evening slots. Instead, it has high hopes for its Local Collect service, which allows people to pick up their delivery from a local Post Office if they are out when the postman calls. It is available at 16,000 UK outlets, although there is a 50p fee. It is also introducing Decide and Deliver, which allows customers to enter their address details and delivery preferences on a Consignia website (www.decideanddeliver.com) and use them automatically at all participating e-tailers. So far only Thorntons and the music seller Blackstar have been persuaded to use it. But Consignia is understood to be in talks with all its internet retailers including the bookseller Amazon.