CHICAGO—The growing popularity of online retail has put apartment landlords in a bind. How do they handle the deluge of packages now delivered to their offices without overwhelming staff members or neglecting the ordinary duties of property management?

At least one major US landlord, Camden Properties Trust, made headlines last week when it decided to stop collecting packages that its residents order online. Instead, it now requires that services like UPS and FedEx make deliveries at residents' doorsteps.

But in the coming years, all operators of large apartment communities will need to come up with strategies to deal with the new world of online retail, especially with consumers' increasing desire for same-day deliveries of an ever-widening array of products.

And some operators, especially those serving the younger, more urban populations most likely to buy products online, have decided that ensuring smooth package delivery and safe storage has become a top priority.

“Package deliveries have ramped up very quickly in just the past few years,” Mark Alfieri, president and chief executive officer of Monogram Residential Trust, an apartment operator with about 15,000 luxury apartment units across the US, tells GlobeSt.com. “We have a very young portfolio, a substantial portion of which we developed ourselves, and from the the get-go we made detailed plans for package delivery systems. Our customers demand this level of service, and view it as essential.”

About 70% of the units operated by the Plano, TX-based company are in the coastal regions, including Boston, California, Washington, DC, South Florida and other West Coast markets. Other regions with Monogram properties include Texas, Denver and Atlanta.

Monogram's developments utilize one of two strategies to handle the package inflow. Many of its buildings have a customized set of automated storage lockers. A delivery is placed inside one of the lockers and the resident receives an email and text with a code they punch in to open the storage unit. “There is a maintenance cost and an upfront cost for this system that may not make sense for every operator,” Alfieri says.

The other developments have Entrata tablet-based technology that utilizes e-signatures and Bluetooth barcode scanners to track packages and notify residents when they have packages in their buildings' storage rooms. Monogram's expense for package management is roughly 10% of Camden's costs.

However, Alfieri understands why some operators might not want to adopt these strategies. For one thing, in many places “a small percentage of residents account for most of the package deliveries,” and if managing this inflow means time away from maintenance or leasing duties, it's not worth it. “It absolutely depends on the residential base. Ours are mostly urban professional types that have a relatively high income compared to our peers. At the higher rent level it's a service you just have to provide.”

“Ultimately, the best solution is for a building to have a UPS-style store in it,” he adds. But however owners respond, the constantly-shifting landscape of online sales will require a willingness to try out new strategies and offer new services. The growing popularity of food deliveries, for example, may mean tenants will expect landlords to provide cold storage options.

“We expect package deliveries to continue increasing over the next few years,” says Alfieri, “so it's something we're always brainstorming.”

Instant Insights /

E-Commerce Making Package Systems Essential for Apartment Operators

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