Forget about becoming Amazon.com's showroom. Staples will soon become the e-tail giant's locker room.
According to Reuters, Staples has agreed to place Amazon lockers in all its stores across the U.S. For those not familiar with the concept, lockers set up in various store locations are designed to hold Amazon packages that weigh less than 10 pounds. The lockers are touted as a means for people to receive orders from Amazon who either have no space or are uncomfortable with deliveries being left at their door. Staples joins 7-Eleven as the most prominent retailers offering the service.
The apparent advantage for retailers, beyond the fee paid by Amazon for housing the lockers, appears to be the prospect of getting consumers into stores they might not have otherwise visited.
A Motley Fool piece questions whether Amazon Lockers inside Staples might encourage comparison-shopping between the online giant and the office supplies chain. Ultimately, the author of the article reasons, Staples is probably better off housing the Amazon Lockers rather than having them show up at Office Depot or OfficeMax.