Verizon Rolls Out 100s Of Touchscreen-Driven Pickup Lockers For Outside Its Stores

April 25, 2022 by Dave Haynes

Here’s an interesting look at why and how the US telecoms giant Verizon developed a largely frictionless pickup locker system for retail locations, first testing it out last year at a location in Omaha, Nebraska.

That’s two posts from Nebraska today!

Writes Grady Milhon, who runs digital at retail for Verizon, on Linkedin …

During the midst of the pandemic, we started on a journey to build an innovative “Phygital” Locker solution for our Verizon Retail stores. The pandemic didn’t slow the V team down one bit. One year ago, we brought the first Locker to life in our Greyhawk store in Omaha, NE. Since that looonng night (What kind of challenges could you have when removing a section of the store front to install a Locker solution?), we have deployed hundreds, with many more planned for 2022.  

For a little “behind the scenes” on the technology driving this solution, we built a custom embedded controller and rugged touchscreen that enables the Verizon designed solution to integrate with our mobile POS and digital solutions. This enables a seamless experience not only for customers, but also for our retail employees as they pick and pack orders. Reps are able to use their mobile POS tablet to select a locker to place the order and it opens for them to place the bag and close the door, then the customer is notified their order is ready to be picked up.

The health safety side of this is perhaps less compelling than in pre-vaccine days, but it’s still real. More to the point, though, is that these kinds of stores often involve long customer-associate transactions, like talking about hardware and plan options and onboarding new subscribers. So when people walk in, they may have to wait. And wait some more.

Pick-up lockers with touchscreens, though, mean time at the store can be super-quick, and very safe.

Here’s a video, with the advance warning that the awful, contrived term “phygital” is used liberally. It also shows how stretch LCDs are being used in the store for digital signage applications.

  1. Jackie Walker says:

    Thank you, Dave, for raising awareness that the term “phygital” should be shunned. I appreciate your service to the community.

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