Package Pickup Locations Offer Safe Alternative To Doorstep Delivery

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As the holiday season approaches, more people are ordering gifts online to be delivered to their homes. But gifts left unattended in mail rooms or apartment lobbies also make them easy targets for theft.

Now, companies are looking to ensure more convenient and potentially easier shipping by designating specific pick-up locations for your packages.

The 'Amazon Locker' program allows buyers to have their order shipped to a designated storage unit for those who don't want their packages delivered straight to their doorstep. Buyers are emailed a unique code they can use to access their designated locker to retrieve their packages, CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported.

The lockers live in more than 30 7-Elevens throughout the city. For Regional Manager Lazaro Rodriguez, having the units is a matter of convenience for guests.

"Guests can come in at lunch time, they can come here after work, they can come here 24 hours a day and pick up a package," Rodriguez said.

Amazon Lockers can also be found in some grocery stores and pharmacies throughout New York City.

United Parcel Service, or UPS, said it's striving for convenience too. Last year, they introduced 'Access Point,' which allows users to have their packages delivered to a nearby store or bodega, rather than their lobby, where it can go unattended.

Users can sign up for Access Point online for free -- store owners get paid fifty cents per package.

Arrow Pharmacy in Midtown West started accepting packages for its neighbors three months ago. Owner Michael Morelli said he gets about ten to 20 packages a day and that the service boosts his image around the neighborhood.

"We kind of like being a pharmacy first," Morelli said. "But it being an alternative is great."

Jarrett Wilson, of Jamaica, thinks it's a cool idea.

"It's better than leaving them isolated and someone just grabs it," Wilson said. "That's not cool."