What Should You Consider When Choosing a Parcel Locker System?

Package deliveries have become one of the most persistent operational challenges in residential properties. Leasing offices fill with boxes, staff spend hours logging and handing out parcels, and residents grow frustrated when packages go missing or pile up in hallways and lobbies.

Parcel lockers can solve much of this, but only if the system fits the property. A locker setup that works well in a 60-unit condo may struggle in a 900-bed student housing community. A system built for indoor mailrooms may not suit an outdoor installation in a cold climate.

This guide covers ten considerations that matter most when evaluating parcel locker systems for apartments, condos, student housing and other high-volume residential properties. Each section explains why the factor matters and lists practical questions to ask vendors, your team and yourself before committing.

1. Package Volume

Everything else follows from volume. If you undersize the system, you'll have overflow packages back in the office within weeks. If you oversize it, you've spent capital and floor space you didn't need.

Many properties estimate volume from memory or a quick count on a single day. That rarely gives an accurate picture. Deliveries vary by day of the week, by season and by resident demographics.

Dwell time matters as much as delivery count. This is how long a package sits before the resident picks it up. A locker compartment holding an uncollected package can't be used for the next delivery. A property with moderate daily volume but slow pickup habits may need more capacity than a busier property where residents collect quickly.

Questions to ask

• How many packages does the property receive on a typical weekday, and on the busiest day of the week?
• How long do packages usually wait before pickup?
• Has package volume changed noticeably over the past year or two?
• Can a vendor help us estimate capacity from our actual delivery data, rather than just unit count?

A practical first step is to track deliveries for two to four weeks before speaking with vendors. Record the number of packages, rough sizes and pickup times. This data makes every later conversation more productive.

2. Package Sizes

Residents order everything from envelopes and small pouches to monitors, pet food and furniture. A locker bank made up mostly of one compartment size will fill unevenly. Small compartments sit empty while large items end up back at the front desk.

The right compartment mix depends on what your residents actually receive. Student housing may see many small and medium packages plus a surge of larger items at move-in. Family-oriented rental communities may see more bulky household deliveries.

You also need a plan for items that won't fit in any compartment. Every property receives some oversized deliveries, so the question is how they're handled.

Questions to ask

• What mix of compartment sizes does the system offer, and can the mix be customized?
• Can compartment configurations be changed later if our package profile shifts?
• What is the process for packages too large for any compartment?
• Are there options for perishable or temperature-sensitive deliveries, such as groceries or meal kits, and do we need them?

3. Available Space

A parcel locker system has to fit where you put it, and it has to work there. That means looking beyond the footprint dimensions on a spec sheet.

Consider clearance in front of the lockers for residents and couriers, especially during busy periods. Consider whether the location has access to power and a reliable network connection, since most smart parcel lockers need both. Also consider the route a courier takes from the curb to the lockers. A convenient location for residents that requires couriers to pass through multiple secured doors can slow deliveries.

For outdoor or semi-outdoor installations, weather becomes a major factor. Properties in much of Canada and the northern United States should look closely at cold-weather performance, snow and ice exposure, and moisture protection. Properties in hot climates should consider heat and direct sun.

Questions to ask

• What are the space, clearance and mounting requirements?
• What power and network connectivity does the system need?
• Is the system rated for indoor use, outdoor use or both? What environmental conditions is it designed for?
• Are building permits, electrical work or fire code reviews required in our jurisdiction?
• For new developments, when in the design process should the locker location and infrastructure be planned?

4. Resident Access

Package management is ultimately a resident experience issue. If picking up a package is confusing or inconvenient, residents will call the office, and part of the benefit of lockers disappears.

Look at the whole pickup journey. How do residents learn a package has arrived? How do they open the locker? What happens if they lose the notification or their phone battery dies? Can they pick up at any hour, or only when the lockers' location is open?

Residents vary. Some prefer mobile apps. Others don't have smartphones or don't want to install another app. Some properties serve residents with limited mobility or vision. A good system should work for all of them.

Accessibility requirements also apply. In the United States, ADA standards include requirements related to accessible routes and reach ranges. In Canada, accessibility requirements vary by province and may be addressed through building codes and accessibility legislation. Confirm the specific obligations for your property with local code officials or an accessibility consultant.

Questions to ask

• How are residents notified of deliveries: email, text, app or several options?
• What retrieval methods are supported, such as codes, apps or other options?
• How do residents without smartphones pick up packages?
• How does the system address accessibility requirements where we operate?
• Can notifications and on-screen instructions be offered in more than one language, if needed?
• Can residents access the lockers 24/7 given where they'll be installed?

5. Staff Workflow

One of the main reasons properties adopt parcel lockers is to reduce the time staff spend handling packages. But lockers change the work more than they eliminate it. Someone still needs to manage resident records, handle exceptions and respond to questions.

Think about what happens daily. When a resident moves in, how are they added? When they move out, how are they removed so packages aren't delivered to a former resident? Who deals with a package that's been sitting for two weeks, or a delivery to a misspelled name?

Talk to the people who handle packages now before choosing a system. Front desk staff, leasing agents and maintenance teams often know about workflow problems that don't show up in a vendor demo.

Questions to ask

• How are resident records added, updated and removed, manually or automatically?
• What tasks will staff still handle, and roughly how often?
• How are uncollected packages flagged and managed?
• What reporting is available, such as package counts, pickup times and locker usage?
• What training is provided for staff, and what ongoing support is available?

6. Carrier Compatibility

A parcel locker only works if couriers actually use it. Properties sometimes install lockers and then find that one or more carriers keep leaving packages in the lobby or at the office.

Carriers have their own delivery procedures, and those procedures can vary by carrier, region and route. Postal services and private carriers may have different requirements for delivering to parcel locker systems. Carrier policies can change, so confirm current requirements with each carrier that serves your property.

Building access is part of this. If couriers can't easily get to the lockers, they'll default to the most convenient drop point.

Questions to ask

• Which carriers regularly deliver to our property today?
• How does a courier use the system? Is the drop-off process quick and simple?
• Does the vendor help with carrier onboarding or communication?
• How do couriers get building access to reach the lockers?
• Have we confirmed current delivery policies with the postal service and major carriers in our area?

7. Software and Integrations

The hardware is only part of a smart parcel locker system. The software determines how residents are managed, how notifications are sent, what data you can see and how much manual work your team does.

Integrations can make a meaningful difference. If the locker software connects with your property management system, resident data may sync automatically instead of being entered twice. But “integration” can mean very different things, from a real-time connection to a periodic file upload. Ask for specifics.

Operators managing multiple properties should also look at portfolio-level visibility, meaning whether you can see activity across sites from one dashboard.

Questions to ask

• Which property management systems, access control systems or other platforms does the software integrate with today? (Ask for current integrations, not planned ones.)
• How does each integration actually work: what data syncs, and how often?
• Is there a management dashboard, and what can it show?
• Who owns the resident and delivery data, and can we export it?
• How are software updates handled, and is there an ongoing software fee?

8. Security

Package theft and misdelivery are among the main reasons properties look at lockers. Security needs to be evaluated at several levels.

Physical security covers how compartments are built and locked, and how the unit is mounted. Operational security covers who can open which compartments, whether there's an activity log of drop-offs and pickups, and how disputes over missing packages are resolved. Placement also matters. Lockers in a monitored, access-controlled area are harder to tamper with than lockers in an unsecured vestibule.

Data security matters too. A smart locker system may store resident names, contact information and delivery activity. Privacy obligations differ between Canada and the United States and can vary by jurisdiction. Consult legal counsel on the obligations that apply to your property.

Questions to ask

• How are compartments secured, and how is the unit installed to prevent tampering?
• Is there a record of each drop-off and pickup that staff can review?
• How are missing-package claims investigated?
• Where is resident data stored, and what security measures protect it?
• Can the system work alongside our existing cameras or access control?

9. Peak Package Volume

Designing for an average day is a common mistake. Package volume rises sharply during certain periods, and a system that handles normal volume may overflow when you need it most.

For most properties, peak periods include the late-fall and holiday shopping season and major online sales events. Student housing has its own peaks around move-in, when residents order furniture, bedding and supplies in large numbers. Lease-up at a new building can also create sustained high volume.

You don't necessarily need to size the system for your single busiest day. You do need a plan for overflow that doesn't overwhelm staff.

Questions to ask

• What does our volume look like during peak periods compared to a typical week?
• What happens when all compartments are full?
• Are there overflow options, such as temporary storage or a secure package room, that work with the locker system?
• Can we encourage faster pickup during peaks, for example through reminder notifications?

10. Scalability

Package volume can grow over time, and portfolios change. A system that fits today should be able to adapt later.

At the property level, that means being able to add capacity, whether through extra modules, reconfigured compartments or a second location, without replacing everything. At the portfolio level, it means being able to deploy consistently across different buildings and manage them without separate processes for each.

Developers have a particular opportunity here. Planning locker space, power and data infrastructure during design is generally much easier than retrofitting later.

Questions to ask

• Can the system be expanded as volume grows? What does expansion involve?
• Can we manage multiple properties from one account or dashboard?
• How does the system work across different property types in our portfolio?
• For new construction, what should be built into the plans now to allow expansion later?

Bringing It Together: How to Run a Good Evaluation

The ten considerations above are connected. Volume and package sizes determine capacity. Capacity determines space. Space affects resident access and carrier access. Software shapes staff workflow and security. Evaluating each factor in isolation can lead to a system that looks good on paper but struggles in practice.

A few steps make the process more reliable:

• Start with data. Track deliveries, sizes and pickup times before talking to vendors.
• Involve the people who handle packages. Staff input will uncover requirements that a spec sheet won't.
• Walk the site with the vendor. Confirm the location, clearances, power, network and courier access in person.
• Ask for references at similar properties. A system that works in a suburban garden-style community may not tell you much about a downtown high-rise or a large student housing building.
• Look at total cost over time. Consider hardware, installation, software fees, maintenance, support and expansion, not just the upfront price.

Choosing a parcel locker system is an operational decision as much as a purchasing decision. The right system should reduce daily workload, improve the resident experience and hold up as your property and package volume change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know how many parcel lockers my property needs?

Unit count alone isn't a reliable guide. Track actual package deliveries for a few weeks, including daily counts, rough sizes and how long packages wait before pickup. Volume and dwell time together determine how many compartments you need. A vendor should be able to help you estimate capacity from this data.

Do parcel lockers work for large packages?

Most systems offer a range of compartment sizes, but every property receives some items too large for any locker. Ask vendors about available compartment sizes and how oversized deliveries are handled, and plan a backup storage option.

Will all carriers deliver to parcel lockers?

Not automatically. Carrier procedures vary by company and location, and the postal services in both countries have their own policies. Confirm current requirements with each carrier that serves your property, and make sure couriers have practical building access to the lockers.

Can parcel lockers be installed outdoors?

Some systems are designed for outdoor or semi-outdoor use and others are indoor-only. If you're considering an outdoor location, especially in colder parts of Canada or the northern US, confirm the system's environmental rating and cold-weather performance.

Do parcel lockers integrate with property management software?

Some do, but integrations vary widely in what they sync and how often. Ask vendors which platforms they currently integrate with and exactly how each integration works.

What should student housing operators consider specifically?

Move-in periods create sharp spikes in package volume, often with many larger items. Student housing operators should pay close attention to peak capacity, overflow plans and how quickly resident records can be updated at the start and end of each term.