Canadian Retailer - Store 2017 - 70

PARTNER MESSAGE PUDO

PORCH PIRATES A GROWING THREAT
ON THE HIGH SEAS OF ECOMMERCE

IN 2017, it's common knowledge that e-commerce is an ever-ex-

their convenience. The majority of
consumers typically aren't at home
during a courier's standard delivery
hours, and with porch pirates becoming a
growing part of the public consciousness,
consumers more than ever before are
unwilling to leave their parcels unattended on their doorsteps for long periods of
time. PUDO provides a remedy to this
concern by providing customers with a
secure and clean holding location for
their parcels that can be picked up at
their convenience.
When making purchases online
through one of PUDO's numerous e-retail
partners, registered members (registration
is free) select the PUDOpoint they'd like
to have their purchases shipped to during
the checkout process. Through PUDO's
technology, members are notified when
their shipment has arrived at their
preferred PUDOpoint via email or text
message. Parcels are stored in a secure
space and stringent identification procedures are followed to ensure that the
intended consignee receives their parcel.

panding industry that continues to grow. Shoppers are making
their purchases online at rates that drastically surge on a yearly
basis, and e-commerce growth is expected to outdo growth of the
industry-at-large in 2017. This of course has resulted in previously
unseen volumes for courier companies and other parcel carriers, as
they feverishly try to accommodate the demands of this increasingly prosperous world.
However this exciting time for both the e-commerce and courier
worlds doesn't come without some challenges. An increase in
parcel volumes has also lead to a rise in
something else-parcel thefts. Though
Members of PUDO (an acronym for 'Pick Up, Drop Off'), can
there are no hard statistics documenting
have personal shipments and online purchases sent to their
parcel theft in Canada, last year an
nearest PUDOpoint, ready for pick-up at their convenience
estimated 23-million Americans were
the victims of 'porch pirates'-an
With over 900 active locations presentincreasingly ubiquitous term used to describe thieves who steal
ly in Canada, PUDO is trying to establish
packages from the porches and doorsteps of unsuspecting customan element of trust and loyalty within
ers. Many couriers don't require signatures for a large percentage of
their customer base. Providing safe and
their volumes, thus resulting in parcels being left on customer's
friendly pick-up points that neighbourdoorsteps, vulnerable to theft. This epidemic is aided by the fact
hood residents can call their own is
that it's quick, painless, and relatively anonymous; swiping an
integral to developing and nurturing this
unattended parcel from a porch or doorstep is a significantly more
type of a relationship.
expedited process than a traditional break-and-enter, and the
chances of a robber being identified and caught after a doorstep
theft has occurred are slim to none. As a result, e-commerce companies, couriers and customers alike are trying to find solutions to this
increasingly prominent problem.
One company at the heart of the porch-pirate solution is PUDO, a
courier-neutral parcel pick-up and drop-off service that allows
customers to turn their neighbourhood convenience store into their
Founded in 2015, PUDO Inc. is developing
own personal courier counter. Members of PUDO (an acronym for
North America's only "carrier-neutral" parcel
'Pick Up, Drop Off'), can have personal shipments and online
pick-up and drop-off network. No other
purchases sent to their nearest PUDOpoint, ready for pick-up
TM

ROBERT COCCIA is the Network Development Manager
for PUDO in Canada with a background in journalism and
media communications.

70 |

CANADIAN RETAILER

| THE LOSS PREVENTION ISSUE

company in North America offers staffed
retail locations that are open for extended
hours to receive consumer deliveries by
any carrier. For more information on PUDO
and their network of stores, please visit
www.pudopoint.com.

http://www.pudopoint.com

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