Amazon has announced Amazon@Penn, a new staffed package pickup point to be opened on the University of Pennsylvania campus. The first such facility at an Ivy League university, Amazon@Penn offers the Penn campus community a convenient location for members of the Penn Community to pick up and return their Amazon orders.
Opening in Spring 2016, this 3,558 square foot space will be strategically located in 1920 Commons, the University’s largest dining facility, with easy access for Penn students whether they live on or off campus. In addition to mobile-enabled, self-service package pick up, it will be the first Amazon pickup location to feature communal work spaces with interactive media pods where students can connect their laptops and mobile devices to TV monitors for presentations, brainstorming, studying, and collaborating. Additionally, Amazon Student and Prime members will receive Free Same-Day Pickup for orders placed by noon and Free One-Day Pickup for orders placed by 10 p.m.
“The preference by today’s students for on-line shopping has led to a significant increase in deliveries. When we looked closely at the shipping activity, we discovered that almost half of all packages delivered to Penn student mail rooms were from Amazon,” said Marie Witt, Vice President of Business Services at Penn. “With this innovative shipping solution we can now offer enhanced convenience and security for a service that our students were already using, while also providing additional community space within easy access of most student residences.”
“We’re thrilled to bring a new experience to Penn that makes it more convenient for students to get everything they need for university life,” said Ripley MacDonald, Director of Amazon Student Programs. “We look forward to bringing this experience to even more college communities soon.”
Since 2015, Amazon has opened staffed pickup locations including: Amazon@Purdue, Amazon@UMass, Amazon@IslaVista, and Amazon@Cincinnati. In addition to Penn, it also has confirmed agreements to open two more locations in 2016 with the University of California, Davis and the University of California, Berkeley.