The Hub — Amazon’s New Delivery Locker For Apartments And Multi-Tenant Dwellings

Innovative as ever, Amazon has quietly rolled out a new delivery feature to help apartment landlords in particularly dense markets manage tenant packages. The locker service, called The Hub, is somewhat similar to the Amazon Lockers the e-commerce behemoth rolled out in 7-Eleven stores throughout the U.S. — but this option will be within apartment buildings.

In hopes of affording users more privacy, the Hub can be accessed by customers with a pickup code. Landlords can choose from a selection of either indoor or outdoor lockers that start at six feet and have 42 lockers, Mashable reports. 

As e-commerce becoes an increasingly popular shopping method, apartment owners around the country have been forced to adjust to the change in consumer buying habits by outfitting their properties to house a large amount of deliveries, from apparel packages to fresh groceries and sometimes kayaks. According to Mashable, these lockers can be used for all packages, not merely Amazon orders. 

The online retail giant has been investing a lot of capital into the expansion of its services, which contributed to Q2 earnings that fell 77% compared to the year-ago quarter. Amazon Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the growth of Amazon’s fulfillment centers remains a top priority. Amazon plans to increase its fulfillment square footage globally by 30% this year. In addition to these new deliveries, the company’s foray into physical retail will continue apace as it uses its brick-and-mortar footprint to increase customer’s experience and market its new products.