Online transactions in Australia experienced 109% growth in the first week of May alone, compared with the previous corresponding period, according to the latest data from Emarsys. To keep up with this online activity boom, retailers are turning to after-hours collection networks such as Hubbed, rather than post offices, to drop off parcels.

Since 5 March, Sendle reports that 39% of its parcels were dropped off at Hubbed locations outside of 9am to 5pm on weekdays, while 35% dropped off their parcels outside of 9am to 6pm on weekdays.

The top ten suburbs for after-hours parcel drop-offs are in Victoria including Melbourne CBD, Mill Park, Reservoir, Moorabbin, Brunswick East, Blackburn, Glen Waverley, and Frankston, with the list rounded out by Sydney CBD and Marrickville in New South Wales.

Hubbed enables Australian carriers such as Sendle, TOLL, DHL, TNT and CouriersPlease to offer after-hours collection points available at BP service stations, 7-Eleven stores, newsagents and pharmacies – many open 24 hours, seven days a week.

Sendle CEO, James Chin Moody said since offering Hubbed pick-up and drop-off locations almost two years ago, there has been an increasing number of small business customers using the service because it offers more flexibility.

“In 2019, we saw a 20% increase in people using the Hubbed network both during and after business hours. The March 2020 spike is a result of the COVID-19 bricks to clicks phenomenon where consumers are purchasing online rather than in-store,” he said.

“Many small businesses are working overtime to fulfill orders, so it really helps when they can organise dispatch and delivery both after hours and on weekends. Most of the locations within the Hubbed network are queue-free, which makes it a safer option. Sendle also has contactless delivery at this time.”

Hubbed founder and CEO, David McLean commented, “Hubbed has enabled time-poor businesses greater flexibility in their parcel drop-off and collection schedules. Online retailers that don’t have a storefront also benefit by using our parcel network of more than 2,000 locations as ‘Click & Collect’ locations. As a collection network, we can also help carriers, such as Sendle, reduce their last-mile costs and their environmental footprint by enabling them to drop parcels off at centralised local ‘hubs’ rather than individual addresses.”