Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) has steadily added options for customers to receive their packages including in car trunks, inside home garages and potentially by drone.
On Thursday, Amazon added another alternative for U.S. customers: Walk into a nearby retailer and pick up an Amazon package over the counter.
The new option, called Counter, will launch with pharmacy Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) offering the service in 100 stores, with an expansion to 1,500 stores by year’s end, the companies said. Amazon is also looking to get other retailers, including small businesses, to join the program as it expands.
The new option builds on Amazon’s previous efforts to put lockers inside retail stores where customers can pick up packages. Patrick Supanc, world director of Amazon Hub, told media outlets the locker has spread to thousands of stores but some retailers do not have the space to accommodate a locker.
"Overall, we want to give every Amazon customer the option of an alternative delivery location," Supanc said. "This will become an extensive network."
Amazon said the service will not cost extra and will work with existing shipping options such as same-day service. When a package arrives at a store, the customer will get an email notification. Once in the store, the customer shows an employee a barcode, and the employee scans it, finds the package and hands it over.
Amazon shares began Thursday up $10.42 to $1,908.25, while those of Rite-Aid prospered 39 cents, or 5.5%, to $7.50
