An investigation by Laserwall and YouGov reveals our tics related to online shopping deliveries and the methods for managing them without going crazy.
Calling it anxiety is a big word, there are much more serious concerns that justify it. But it exists, of course. It is a subcutaneous discomfort, a little buzz in the heada slight sense of nausea, like in that novel by Jean-Paul Sartre.
AND the sense of waiting for a home deliverythe pleasure and the need to receive a good in order to discard it. An ancestral suggestion that triggers childhood memories, although a little spoiled from the awareness that something could go wrong. That the courier misses the delivery, is unable to locate the intercom, finds the reception closed, the gate barred, the usually so kind neighbor with a bad mood. And that the package comes back, ends up who knows wherestuck in a tangle of delays and bureaucracy.
As with every phenomenon, this too has its own label, naturally squeezed into an Anglicism. There parcel anxietywell yes, package anxiety. Which then, reading it in the Roman way, the double meaning is useful. Patting meant as standing upmissing that of the letters as a commitment made. And it is a very widespread, almost universal evil. The confirmation that we are unable to live even the minutiae of everyday life with peace of mindIndeed, they are precisely those that give us the most stress.
Confirmation in the numbers
8 out of 10 Italians are affectedwho to remedy this end up changing their agenda so that they, and no one else, answer the intercom. Even forcing themselves to make supreme efforts such as not going to the bathroom, convinced that the postman will arrive at the exact moment in which they allow themselves a distraction. And it won’t always ring twice. 25 percent of our compatriots admit to having given up online shopping so as not to condemn ourselves to this whirlwind of unpleasant emotions.
The statistics are coming from research by the Laserwall companyspecialized in services to improve the quality of condominium life, carried out together with the YouGov institute. The conclusion is that buying on the internet is now a consolidated habit, a family ritual for 53 percent of Italianswho repeat it 1 to 5 times a month. Not living it very well: 41 percent complain about the unpredictability of timetables or punctual delays; 33 percent don’t like having to stay at home while waiting for the courier (but wasn’t it the era of smart working?), 29 percent curse the worst when it happens. Also because struggling to recover the lost trophy makes the convenience of having it delivered to your home disappear.
Hunting for alternatives
Then again, there are other methods, but they are not so solid. 36 percent of the sample interviewed by Laserwall and YouGov prefers home delivery. Immediately behind there are the lockers, the automatic lockers which offer good flexibility in collection times and a wide choice in geographical proximity. 28 percent of Italians favor this solution, while neighborhood shops stand at 16 percent. So, perhaps, by going to the newsstand you can also buy the newspaper or at the supermarket you can combine the collection with the shopping. And the anxiety decreases until it vanishes because you don’t have to physically guard your own four walls. You even feel a bit like a friend of the environment, given that the courier reduces mileage and therefore emissions by avoiding stopping door to door.
The neighbor is not the right remedy
There would always be the save in the corner, the hope that the neighbor would take pity and collect the package for us or we could ask him for a favor directly. For 48 percent of Italians it represents a burden: there is a fear that it will become a nuisance, a source of conflict, a favor to be repaid in some way.
And leaving packages in unattended common areas is often not a winning idea. Almost one condominium owner in four, 22 percent, including the writer, has experienced a damaged or lost package. Disappeared who knows how, who knows where. The classic opportunity for a condominium thief. Quite a nuisance, definitely more noticeable than the vague one parcel anxiety.
The technological solution is better
In this era of great innovations, technology can act as a stress reliever. The ground is ready: 73 percent of the sample considers it useful integrate smart services within your building. There are cameras, intercoms that open remotely. Or solutions like Amazon Key, which allows authorized couriers to access buildings independently and safe and to deliver packages without the need for assistance.
Laserwall also has its own way. It’s called Laserwall Check, it’s a bag installed on a wall plate inside the condominium. The courier enters the building via Amazon Key, unlocks the bag and inserts the packages. The recipient does the same via an app, withdrawing what he is waiting for when he preferswithout having to stay at home. It is a sort of locker, a private locker at home.
«We wanted to intervene precisely on this point», he comments Salvatore Dolce, CEO of Laserwall«bringing a solution that combines controlled access, security and flexibility into the condominium». AND eliminates package anxietygiven that we already have enough of daily worries.
