CHICAGO — Printable shipping labels and online tracking services have eliminated most of the need for human interaction in the shipping process, but a new UPS option rolling out in Chicago this year will cut out the deliveryman, too.
UPS announced last week that it will open nine "smart locker" sites in the city where consumers can use their smartphones or IDs to "retrieve their package from a locker in less time than it takes to withdraw cash from an ATM," the company said in a release.
The first site opened earlier this month in Wrigleyville, and eight more locations will open by the end of the year, according to UPS spokeswoman Natalie Godwin-Norrington, who said the company isn't releasing the lockers' addresses yet.
Lizzie Schiffman Tufano says Chicago is the first city to get the UPS lockers:
Members of the shipping company's My Choice program can reroute their packages to a locker site for delivery during times when they won't be home to accept a package.
Chicago is the first city in the U.S. to have the lockers, according to Godwin-Norrington. The service will expand to other cities if it's deemed successful, but she said she wouldn't call Chicago's lockers a pilot program.
Amazon launched a similar locker delivery service in 2012.
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