E-commerce and the popularity of parcel machines brought record parcel volumes

In March, the Omniva parcel machine volumes of Estonia grew by 11.9 percent in comparison with the previous month. According to the logistics company, the volumes of the previous month are the second best of all time.

According to the Head of the Omniva Parcels Business, Sten Argos, this increase in the volumes is caused mainly by two things. “First, the volumes increase due to the consistent growth of e-commerce. Second, it is caused by the continuous growth in the popularity of parcel machines,” says Argos.

According to the data provided by Statistics Estonia, the retail sales of 2015 via post or online increased by 40 percent on average in comparison with the previous year. “Because the parcel machine has become the most favoured way of sending and receiving parcels in Estonia, the growth of e-commerce directly influences the volumes of parcel machines,” says Argos.

In addition, Statistics Estonia revealed that in 2015, 59 percent of Estonians aged 16–74 visited some type of online store and this tendency is ever growing. “If every parcel in March had been for a different person, then it could be said that about every eleventh Estonian resident used the Omniva parcel machine last month,” says Argos. “If using the parcel machine becomes second nature to so many, then the parcel volumes of a usual spring month will exceed the volumes of a usual Christmas month.”

In comparison with the previous year, the parcel volumes of Omniva parcel machines of the first three months have increased by nearly 11 percent and the popularity of parcel machines is also confirmed by the fact that the Omniva service “Aliexpress to the parcel machine” reached the finale of “E-tegu 2015” (E-deed 2015). “Estonians love parcel machines and it is likely that the number of receivers and senders will grow even more when new locations are established,” says Argos.

Omniva, with its 205 parcel machines, has already the largest parcel machine network in Estonia, as well as in the Baltics. By autumn, it will increase by 28 percent with 20 new machines in Estonia, 22 in Lithuania, and 15 in Latvia.