Spar installs Amazon collection lockers

Spar has installed Amazon collection lockers into nine of its convenience stores to make them more “service-friendly".

The company is following in the footsteps of the Co-op and convenience chain Martin McColl in installing the lockers, which allow customers to order their Amazon purchases to be delivered to a nearby unit for them to collect at their convenience.

The lockers are being situated in Bannerbrook, Broomhill, Grantham and St Albans stores, with further stores likely to follow suit. Spar UK retail development controller Barry Wallis said: “This is a highly innovative move from Spar UK, showing our commitment to launching the latest technologies that provide the best possible convenience to shoppers.” He added it would make the stores more “service-friendly".

Amazon has also revealed it is making 300 temporary jobs permanent at its distribution centre in Fife, bringing the number of permanent staff there to 640. Amazon has told the BBC it expects the number of permanent staff to rise to 750 as operations there expand.

Director of operations at Amazon, Catherine McDermott said: "Amazon has invested over £1bn in its UK operations, including our fulfilment centre in Dunfermline where hundreds of employees focus every day on providing an exceptional experience for our customers all over the UK, Europe and the world."

The company is also expanding its children’s publishing output in the US with two new imprints set to publish their first titles this spring. The imprint Two Lions will publish picture books, chapter books and middle-grade fiction (for children aged 8 to 12), while “Skyscape” is aimed at teens, Paid Content has reported.