Shopkeepers in France fed up with Christmas package pick ups
The points relais must handle a massive surge in December each year
Pick-up points are only paid around 30 cents per package delivered
ALPA PROD / Shutterstock
Many shopkeepers who run a package pick-up point as a sideline to their regular business are feeling overwhelmed by the massive surge in Christmas deliveries.
Pick-up points, or points relais allow people to receive packages elsewhere than at their homes, which is advantageous for many who are not at home in the daytime, or for those whose addresses are hard to find.
They can be found in many tabacs, newsagents and convenience stores around France, and are typically affiliated with one of the main points relais brands: Mondial Relay, UPS (UPS Access Point), Geopost (La Poste), Relais Colis and Chronopost.
Read more: 14 things you can do at a tabac in France apart from buy cigarettes
‘Not well paid’
For most stores, the direct financial windfall is not why they sign up.
“It is not well paid,” Baha Mustapha, manager of ‘Abbas, Fruits & Légumes’ in Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine) told TF1.
“We only get 30 cents per package delivered and 10 cents per package sent.”
“At the moment we receive three or four hundred packages every day. Usually it’s only 80.”
Management of the Christmas package stock requires the attention of two of Mr Mustapha’s staff for two hours a day for a windfall of only €800 a month.
The stream of potential new customers should in theory make the extra work worthwhile.
However, this is not always the case.
“We stopped [being a point relais] because people were just rude,” florist Jean-François Hauck told TF1.
“They would come in and ask for their package without even saying bonjour or merci. Then on Google they would give us a one star rating because we couldn’t give them their package on Christmas day…
“But that’s not our business! We just sell flowers!”
In 2022, Capital reported that 10% of Relais Colis pick-up points in the Ile-de-France region were overwhelmed during the period from Black Friday to Christmas.
“It starts two or three weeks before Black Friday and continues until Christmas,” said Relais Colis General Manager Christophe Cornilleau. “It is difficult to anticipate the volumes.”
Expanding networks
To manage the seasonal surge in packages, Relais Colis has expanded its network, opening 1,000 more pick-up points per year, going from 7,000 in 2022 to 9,000 in December 2023. It plans to reach 10,000 pick-up points in 2024.
The market leader, Mondial Relay, already has 12,000 pick-up points, but is still expanding.
Since 2022, it has installed more than 3,000 package pick-up lockers, with a total of 4,000 in France. These lockers allow people to pick-up their package directly, using a security code, bypassing the need to go to a point relais shop.
To find your nearest pick up point, visit:
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