PostNL has announced that it has been undertaking a market ‘test’ of a home delivery box since May 2015. The company has been employing a plastic box which makes it possible for consumers to have packages delivered to their home whilst they are away from their homes.

PostNL has developed a plastic kit which can be folded into a box. The courier then sets up the box, fills it with the package and locks it by swiping a handle into a slot which is secure to the customer’s house. The box is water resistant and is resistant to cutting and ultraviolet radiation.

Once the box has been set up and the package delivered, the customers receive an alert on their smartphones, confirming that the parcel has been delivered. On returning home, the customer unlocks the box using bluetooth and a password. At this point, the sender of the parcel will receive a message that the package was received by the customer.

With PostNL’s ‘Altijd Thuis’, the customer can also return items, by putting the items in the box and sending out a message to PostNL. For now, the trial is only being used by some PostNL employees. The company specifically wants to test the technology being used and the operational feasibility.

Of course PostNL isn’t the only parcel company who is looking for a way to get more packages to customers who aren’t at home at the moment of delivery. Many other major players are experimenting. In Germany for example, DHL has launched a pilot together with Zalando, while in the UK there’s the Hippo Dropbox.

Apex Insight has just published a new report – European Parcel Shop and Locker Networks: Market Insight Report 2015, which provides a detailed analysis of the European parcel shops and locker markets and operators.