Amazon Bringing Its Lockers To Staples

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For Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shoppers frustrated by missed deliveries, they will now be able to pick up their online purchases at Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS).

On Monday, the office supply retailer announced its plans to install “Amazon Lockers” in their stores. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has previously placed the units in grocery, convenience, and drug stores–some of which are venues open 24 hours a day, such as a 7-Eleven, Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY), and Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG)’s.

Amazon Bringing Its Lockers To Staples

By placing the lockers in the retailer, customers can avoid waiting for their packages. Through the service, Amazon sends a pickup code via email to customers. They enter it on a locker’s touchscreen, which contains their packagaes. There is a three-day open window for shoppers to obtain their Amazon purchase.

For Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), it pays a small fee to the stores’ owners that have the lockers.

Neither company has provided details on the venture, but they could both face challenges from it, including the selling of identical printers at different price points and availability.

According to Benzina, Staples.com currently has a printer promotion for weekly deals. This includes the following Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) printers: the LaserJet Color MFP M175nw Multifunction Printer and Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer. Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX) has its WorkCentre 3045ni Multifunction Printer in the deal and Brother includes its HL-2270DW Mono Laser Printer.

Amazon has the latter printer retailing for the identical price, but Hewlett-Packard’s Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer is not offered by the site. Third-party sellers don’t make up for this exclusion, as they charge customers more and delivery takes longer.

The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) LaserJet Color MFP M175nw Multifunction Printer is offered by Amazon, but it is $20 to $50 lower than Staples’ selling price of $349.99.

From its various prices and products, Staples could gain Amazon customers, which is likely one of their goals for the deal. It could be risky, but the retailer’s market share could grow for the printing products, as compared to Amazon. There’s also the potential for customers to use Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) more for lower prices, while giving Staples’ customers increased access to Amazon products.

Who is the winner from this? At the end of the day, Staples will at least receive a small fee for Amazon lockers placed in their stores.

What does Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) gain from this deal? As previously noted, there’s the 24-hour stores that will allow consumers to pick up packages at their convenience. In a store, such as 7-Eleven, it’s not in competition with Amazon, as its customers base is different and diverse.

And, one takeaway for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), is it will make its customers happy. Which they try very hard to do so.

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