The U.S. Postal Service plans to start testing its own locker system for packages, similar to the lockers that Amazon.com has been rolling out on a trial basis, according to a report this week by the Courier Express & Postal Observer news site.
USPS will test the system at a variety of locations in Northern Virginia under the name “gopost,” according to the site.
Unlike traditional post office boxes, the lockers will be temporarily assigned to recipients until their packages are picked up. That’s similar to Amazon’s approach at its test sites in Seattle, New York City and London. Amazon customers receive a code via email when their packages arrive, and use the code to open the corresponding locker at the delivery location they’ve chosen.
However, unlike Amazon’s system, the USPS lockers will be available to a variety of retailers to ship products. In addition, the Courier Express & Postal Observer reports that the USPS lockers will also accept parcels for shipping.
The Postal Service is looking for new ways to generate business in the midst of its ongoing financial crunch.
