Picture this: A shopper in Phoenix orders a pair of premium headphones. The tracking says “delivered.” But when she gets home from work, the doorstep is empty. No box. No headphones. Just the sinking feeling that someone walked off with her purchase—again.

This scenario plays out millions of times each year across the country, and it’s eroding trust in e-commerce at a time when online shopping has never been more popular. According to recent industry data, package theft in North America has grown by over 30% since 2020, with losses now exceeding $12 billion annually when accounting for product replacement, reshipments, refunds, and customer support costs.

So what exactly are secure pickup points? They’re commercial locations—staffed counters at convenience stores, parcel shops, pharmacies, and lockers—where customers can collect their online orders instead of having them left on a doorstep. Unlike traditional home delivery, these locations offer controlled access, verification protocols, and parcels stored safely until the customer arrives.

Porch piracy isn’t a minor inconvenience—it’s become a defining challenge of the modern ecommerce world. As online order volume has exploded post-2020, so has the opportunity for thieves who target unattended residential deliveries.

The numbers tell a stark story:

• Americans who experienced package theft in 2023: 49 million
• Average value per stolen parcel: $112
• Estimated annual loss to retailers and carriers: $12+ billion
• Households reporting multiple theft incidents: 1 in 3

These losses hit some verticals harder than others. Fashion and footwear brands with recognizable packaging are prime targets. Electronics and accessories attract thieves seeking high resale value. Beauty products and specialty foods face not just theft risk but also spoilage when left outside for hours.

For merchants, the hidden costs multiply quickly. Every stolen package means a potential reship at your expense, a refund that cuts into margins, or a chargeback that triggers payment processor scrutiny. Your support teams field angry calls and emails. Negative reviews pile up. Carriers may even flag your account for elevated risk if claim rates climb too high.

Then there’s the psychological impact on consumers. People who lose packages once become anxious about every future order. They hesitate at checkout. They choose competitors who seem safer. Repeated incidents don’t just cost you one sale—they cost you a customer for life.

The structural weaknesses of residential delivery are baked into the model itself. Carriers optimize for speed and volume, which often means dropping packages at doorsteps without waiting for someone to answer.

Consider the common failure points:

• Unattended doorsteps: In most neighborhoods, packages sit in plain view for hours until residents return from work.
• Shared lobbies and mailrooms: Apartment buildings often lack secure package areas, leaving boxes piled in public spaces where anyone can grab them.
• Misdelivered packages: Wrong addresses, unclear unit numbers, and rushed drivers lead to packages going to the wrong location entirely.
• Premature “delivered” scans: Some packages are marked delivered before they’re actually placed, creating confusion and making disputes harder to resolve.

Merchants and consumers have tried various workarounds. Signature-required delivery sounds great in theory but often results in missed deliveries and frustrated customers. Neighbor delivery depends on trusting strangers. Carrier instructions (“leave in back”) assume thieves can’t read.

The reality is clear: as long as parcels end their journey at an exposed, unmonitored location, no amount of tracking technology or doorbell cameras can fully stop theft. Cameras might record the crime, but they don’t prevent it. Notifications tell you your package arrived—they don’t guarantee it’ll still be there when you get home.

Multi-tenant buildings present particular challenges. Student housing, urban high-rises, and gated communities without dedicated package rooms see theft rates far above the national average. The opportunity for theft is simply too easy when dozens or hundreds of packages accumulate in open areas every day.

This is where secure pickup fundamentally changes the game. In the context of Via.Delivery’s BOPA network, secure pickup points are commercial locations—convenience stores, pharmacies, shipping shops, and retail partners—where parcels are received by staff and held for customer collection.

The security advantages are immediate and substantial:


The chain-of-custody improvement is dramatic. Instead of delivering to a residential address where anything can happen, carriers deliver to a commercial address with predictable hours and staff present. The parcel is scanned on arrival. It’s stored securely—behind a counter, in a back room, or in a locked compartment. When the customer arrives, they provide a code or ID, staff retrieves the package, and another scan confirms the handover.

The likelihood of theft at a monitored retail location with staff present is virtually zero compared to an unattended doorstep. Industry data suggests that pickup point theft rates run below 0.1%, compared to residential theft rates that can exceed 5% in high-risk areas.

Beyond security, shoppers enjoy secondary benefits: privacy (no packages advertising purchases to neighbors), flexibility to pick up on their schedule, and the ability to consolidate multiple orders at one location.

Via.Delivery’s Buy Online, Pickup Anywhere (BOPA) service provides the infrastructure that makes secure pickup work at scale for e-commerce retailers.

The network is substantial: over 36,000 pickup locations across the United States and selected international markets. These partners include national convenience store chains, independent shipping shops, pharmacies, and retail stores that have integrated parcel receiving into their operations.

Here’s how the operational flow works:

1. Customer selects pickup point at checkout: Your online store displays nearby pickup locations, and the shopper chooses one.
2. Order ships to commercial address: You fulfill the order and ship it to the pickup location’s address using standard carriers.
3. Location receives and stores parcel: Staff scan the incoming package and store it securely until pickup.
4. Customer gets pickup notification: Via.Delivery sends an automated email or SMS with the location address, hours, and a unique pickup code.
5. Authenticated pickup: The customer visits the location, provides their ID, and staff hand over the package with a final confirmation scan.

Via.Delivery provides the tools that connect this experience to your e-commerce stack:

• Plugins for Shopify and other major platforms
• ShipStation integration for merchants already using that workflow
• API access for custom implementations
• Label generation with pickup location addresses
• Tracking and notification services that keep customers informed

The key point for retailers: you don’t need to open physical stores. Via.Delivery’s network gives you an “as-if we had stores everywhere” delivery experience by leveraging existing third-party retail locations as your secure pickup partners.

Let’s break down the specific security mechanisms that protect parcels at pickup locations.

Physical controls:

• Locked storage areas accessible only to staff
• CCTV coverage throughout the location
• Parcels kept behind counters or in staff-only zones
• Limited public access to stored inventory

Digital controls:

• Unique pickup codes or barcodes for each parcel
• ID verification
• Real-time scan events creating a complete chain of custody
• Integration with Via.Delivery’s tracking system for visibility at every step

Operational protocols:

• Standard retention windows (typically 7–14 days)
• Automated reminders before parcels are returned
• Clear workflows for uncollected items
• Staff training on package handling and verification

Because parcels go to commercial addresses, they also benefit from carriers’ typically more reliable commercial service levels. Drivers know these locations, deliveries happen during business hours, and there’s always someone present to receive the package.

The data trail matters too. Every scan event—arrival at location, storage, customer pickup—creates documented, verifiable evidence of the parcel’s journey. If a dispute ever arises, you have complete traceability rather than a “he said, she said” situation about what happened at someone’s doorstep.

While theft prevention is the primary value proposition, secure pickup points also reshape your last-mile economics and customer experience in meaningful ways.

Cost advantages:

• Delivering many parcels to a smaller number of commercial hubs reduces carrier surcharges compared with dispersed residential stops
• Lower theft rates mean fewer free reships eating into margins
• Reduced refund volume preserves revenue
• Decreased customer support time per order as “where is my package?” calls drop

Delivery performance improvements:

• Commercial addresses see higher first-attempt delivery success rates
• Fewer reroutes and failed deliveries
• More predictable transit times since there’s always someone present to receive
• Reduced carrier exception fees

Customer experience benefits:

• Flexible pickup hours that fit busy schedules (evenings, weekends)
• Ability to pick up near work, gym, school, or along a commute
• Eliminated anxiety about whether a package will still be there
• Option to consolidate multiple orders at one pickup point
• Enhanced privacy—no visible packages at home advertising purchases
• For shoppers who work long hours, travel frequently, or live in theft-prone areas, secure pickup transforms online shopping from a source of stress into a seamless experience.

Secure pickup is both a security measure and a growth lever. You should track its performance with clear KPIs across multiple dimensions.

Theft-related metrics:

• Reported “missing package” incidents per 1,000 orders (before vs. after rollout)
• Reship and refund rates for home delivery vs. pickup
• Chargeback frequency by delivery method
• Customer support contacts related to delivery issues

Cost metrics:

• Average last-mile shipping cost per order by method
• Total reship and refund spend monthly
• Support time per order for delivery-related inquiries
• Carrier claim rates and processing costs

Growth and CX metrics:

• Checkout conversion rate with pickup option visible vs. hidden
• Repeat purchase rate for customers who use pickup
• NPS or CSAT scores segmented by delivery method
• Adoption rate of pickup as a percentage of total orders

While almost any online retailer can benefit from secure pickup, some segments see outsized gains.

Fashion and footwear: Branded packaging makes fashion shipments targets for theft. High return rates already squeeze margins, and adding theft-related reships compounds the problem. Secure pickup reduces loss for both mid-priced and premium brands, while also offering customers a convenient option to try items and return at the same location.

Electronics and accessories: High theft attraction plus warranty and fraud concerns make electronics a prime candidate for secure pickup. The added verification at pickup provides an extra layer of protection against social engineering and fraud schemes.

Signature related and temperature-sensitive items: Products that can spoil when left outside for hours need predictable reception times. Pickup points with controlled environments and staff present ensure product integrity from arrival to customer handover.

DTC brands and marketplaces without physical stores: This is where Via.Delivery’s network creates particular opportunity. Brands that have built their entire business online can suddenly offer an “as-if we had stores everywhere” experience. Customers get the convenience of local pickup, and brands get the security and cost benefits without any real estate investment.

Subscription boxes: Regular, predictable deliveries are ideal for pickup. Subscribers can establish a routine—picking up their monthly box at a convenient location—while brands eliminate recurring theft risk.

Secure pickup works best as part of a comprehensive delivery strategy, not a standalone solution.

Integration with tracking and notifications: Real-time tracking, delivery notifications, and photos at delivery reduce ambiguity and disputes for home deliveries. Secure pickup adds another layer by eliminating the vulnerable doorstep phase entirely for customers who choose it.

When signature-required still makes sense: For very high-value items requiring special handling or chain of custody documentation, signature-required home delivery may still be appropriate. But for the vast majority of orders, secure pickup provides mainstream protection without the friction of missed delivery attempts.

Informing broader strategy: Data from your pickup network—location performance, average pickup times, incident-free rates—can inform carrier selection, risk management, and geographic prioritization. You might discover that certain regions have such high theft rates that pickup should become the default, while others perform fine with standard home delivery.

Offering customer choice: The best approach often involves presenting both options: standard home delivery for customers who want it, plus secure pickup for those who prefer protection and flexibility. Over time, you can gradually nudge high-risk ZIP codes toward pickup defaults while respecting customer preferences.

How do customers know when their package is ready for pickup?
Via.Delivery’s notification flow is fully automated. When a parcel arrives at the pickup point and is scanned by location staff, the system triggers an email and/or SMS alert to the customer. This notification includes the pickup location address, opening hours, and a unique secure code needed for collection.

Merchants can typically customize the branding and messaging to match their own post-purchase communication style, ensuring a consistent experience. Most pickup locations hold parcels for 7 days, and Via.Delivery sends reminder notifications before a parcel is returned to help minimize uncollected orders.

What happens if a customer never picks up their order?
Standard retention policies apply—each pickup location holds parcels for a defined window (typically 7 business days), after which uncollected items are automatically returned to sender through Via.Delivery’s established workflows.

Each merchant sets their own refund or reship policy for uncollected orders and should communicate this clearly at checkout and in order confirmation emails. The combination of clear pickup instructions, convenient locations, and automated reminders keeps uncollected order rates relatively low compared with failed home delivery attempts.

Can secure pickup work for oversized or heavy items?
Many pickup locations can handle bulky parcels, but not all. Via.Delivery’s location data includes size and weight capabilities for each point in the network, allowing merchants to define product rules that ensure only eligible items display pickup options at checkout.

For larger goods, the best approach is often offering a mix: secure pickup for standard-sized products, and alternative home delivery options (potentially with signature required) for oversized items. This balance maintains flexibility while respecting location constraints.

Is secure pickup available outside major cities?
Via.Delivery’s BOPA network includes a mix of urban, suburban, and smaller-town locations. The network leverages convenience stores, independent shipping shops, and retail partners across diverse geographies—not just dense metro areas.

How complex is the technical integration with existing systems?
For most merchants, integration is straightforward. Shopify users can install Via.Delivery’s plugin and be operational within days. ShipStation users connect through the built-in integration with minimal configuration.

For custom e-commerce stacks, Via.Delivery provides comprehensive API documentation and sandbox environments for testing before going to production. Technical teams can work through the integration at their own pace, with support available for questions along the way. Most integrations move from initial testing to live orders within a few weeks.

For more detailed technical or commercial questions, contact Via.Delivery directly to discuss your specific requirements.