Check out Delipop's store front here

Introduction

The IADS recently sat down with Marek Piotrowski, Chief of Marketing Operations at Retail Robotics, a technology company that has been improving the efficiency and convenience of delivery and click and collect processes for e-commerce and e-grocery for more than 30 years. Marek Piotrowski has been involved in marketing and design for the entirety of his career working with top brands all over the world through advertising agencies where he utilized different successful strategies for a slew of brands. He joined the Retail Robotics team and oversees marketing, design, PR, and user experience at Delipop in France.

Delipop harnesses Retail Robotics’ click-and-collect multi-retailer smart parcel lockers that serves as multi-brand or single retailer pick-up points. Delipop recently opened its first locations across Paris, so the IADS team decided to use the opportunity to take a first-hand look at the ‘store front’.

An introduction to Delipop

The Delipop automated pick-up point locations have been created with customer experience at its core. As you are walking down the streets of Paris, your eyes are quickly drawn toward the colorful façade of the building which boasts bold blues, lime green, hot pink, and yellows. The entrance of the building is guarded by a keypad where customers can use a unique code to enter when they have a scheduled delivery. Inside the building, there are color-coded and numbered kiosks where customers are invited to scan a QR code to retrieve their goods. The machine registers the information and moments later, large, refrigerated drawers open to reveal the customer’s goods. Depending on the size of the order, multiple drawers can be used to fulfill the delivery. If the customer also has frozen items, they will need to scan another QR code at the same kiosk, which will then signal a separate frozen section that has numbered parcel lockers. The parcel with the item will light up in green and the door will pop open, then customers can retrieve the remainder of their goods.

The interior of the store is meant to help the customers disconnect from the outside world by offering soothing sounds such as birds singing as well as the specific use of colors, lights, and smells just like what other food retailers have started to do in their newest formats, such as Monoprix’s Monop’ iteration in Paris. As Delipop is committed to local communities, each Delipop offers a mural that highlights famous people and places in the neighborhood. This, however, is not particularly standard in terms of grocery retail, at least in Paris.

IADS: Can you give an overview of how Delipop came about, giving more detail about what the solution is and where it is going?

Marek Piotrowski: Parcel lockers have been around in e-commerce for a very long time, but they are gaining more importance as they consolidate flows and create a ‘hub effect’ which leads to improved economic benefits and sustainability. Retail Robotics is one of the biggest producers of parcel lockers in the world, and we believe that the concept of Delipop offers an interesting alternative to couriers and home delivery while also decreasing the limits of traditional e-commerce delivery options. On average, one courier could only deliver around 15 orders a day, but Delipop allows more orders to be fulfilled and reduces the cost of delivery.

Delipop offers a pickup point for e-grocery orders to local consumers. The pick-up point is equipped with smart parcel lockers that offer refrigerated and frozen sections. Before Covid, there were not too many issues with grocery deliveries, and the demand was growing slowly. But in the wake of Covid, it was almost impossible to get your grocery delivery scheduled and delivered. Delipop is now the only viable solution that can cope with the problem.

Partnership with Carrefour

*IADS: Delipop opened its first parcel location, in partnership with Carrefour, in Paris at the end of 2021. Can you explain the logic behind this partnership and what you have learned so far? What is the plan for the coming years and how are you going to achieve it?*

MP: Carrefour decided to join the network as the first partner because they like to show that they are the leader in retail and innovative solutions. The partnership has been in effect for over half a year, and we are satisfied. The most important thing we have learned is that once a customer starts using Delipop, they are very loyal. Over the last five to six months, we have had some clients use Delipop 50 times, which comes out to be almost 10 times a month. Now it is time to build the network and optimize logistics.

The two key factors that are important to our customers are location and price. We also set up Delipop to be user-friendly so that anyone can use it. Now we are planning on expanding partnerships as well as locations. The plan is to have 150 Delipop locations across Paris and to expand across France to be able to offer products locally and sustainably to more people.

IADS NOTE: Since the time of the interview, Delipop has added Monoprix as a retailer. Read their press release here.

Opportunities for departments stores

*IADS: What are some tangible takeaways from the Delipop solution that Department Store leaders should note?*

MP: Putting parcel lockers in stores will increase foot traffic, and 70% of customers that pick up a package from a parcel locker will stay and shop for other items. We are actually working on a project now to build a big network of parcel lockers in local convenience stores. This network of parcel lockers has no additional cost to the retailer, all they have to do is dedicate some space to a logistics partner and it will bring in additional foot traffic to the store. This helps retailers convert online traffic into physical in-store traffic.

(note from IADS: given the fact that for grocery pick up the parcel locker zone needs to be relatively accessible and easy going, which often implies ground floor locations, there is a hidden cost related to the missed turnover that is usually achieved on such locations)

Delipop and Sustainability

Delipop recently conducted a sustainability insight report titled ‘Sustainability in the last-mile delivery of groceries’ which takes a deep dive into how Delipop is addressing the challenges caused by scheduling e-commerce deliveries and changing customer habits. The report reveals that the growing demand for e-commerce delivery will result in 36% more delivery vehicles in inner cities by 2030. Delipop hopes to contribute to the 15-minute city concept developed by Professor Carlos Moreno where citizens can fulfill life necessities within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their homes. The demand for last-mile solutions is growing rapidly and is expected to grow globally by 78% by 2030. The report suggests that a universal network of multi-brand hubs, such as Delipop, can solve many last-mile delivery issues from increasing costs to more sustainable operations.

Delipop plans to offer a multi-merchant pedestrian drive that provides local customers with all the products they need from various retailers at affordable prices. Delipop also offers greater efficiency for couriers as well. With home deliveries, a single courier can deliver around 15 orders a day, but with Delipop’s network, they will be able to fulfill 200 to 300 orders a day. The Delipop concept claims to reduce emissions, enhance local business, respect traditional commerce, harness technology, and offer an efficient multi-brand network to contribute to the overall improvement of the communities it serves.

IADS’ take on parcel lockers and city centers

While Delipop is providing a solution that is more specifically focused on the grocery market, parcel lockers that can house a variety of products could amplify retailers’ BOPIS and e-commerce fulfillment options. Such solutions are introducing a “buy online pick up in locker” option which can potentially reduce various types of friction related to the transfer of goods between retailers and consumers. Contactless fulfillment options can also save retailers’ employee service time and they could provide more flexible solutions to customers. Parcel lockers can also provide an alternative option for returns, which is a major cost to retailers with the uptick in e-commerce sales.

Parcel lockers are also providing solutions that contribute to localization, and as department stores are typically situated in the heart of cities, this makes them the perfect candidates to offer such services to citizens. Last-mile delivery, especially in large cities, has become quite the challenge as governing bodies are starting to regulate how deliveries are made to reduce traffic and make deliveries greener. Between the rising costs of inflation and supply chain disruptions, parcel lockers could offer a more sustainable and affordable way for retailers to create top-notch experiences for their local customers, while also bringing in more foot traffic to physical stores.

It is interesting however to note that specialized companies, such as Delipop, focus on local supermarkets to plan their expansion and often take for granted the presence of a parking lot in their reasoning. One could see that there is an obvious possibility of collaboration with department stores, but it seems untapped so far. Is it due to the fact that profitability perspective is not in line with expectations, or simply because the said specialized companies also fall victim to the biased perception that department stores are not a format fit for the future?

Credits: IADS (Mary Jane Shea)