Amazon opened its first on-campus pick-up and drop-off location at Purdue University yesterday. Amazon@Purdue is staffed by Amazon and offers students a location to pick-up their orders at a schedule that is adapted to their hours on campus.
Members of Amazon Prime and Amazon Student are eligible for free one-day pick-up of over one million items in the Amazon catalog. Textbooks that are being used by professors in their classes at Purdue are marked with a special badge and related class information once a student uses the search on purdue.amazon.com. Other items that are eligible for one-day shipping are marked with a Prime Campus badge.
“Whether students are ordering textbooks, laptops, or mac and cheese, Amazon and Purdue are now providing a convenient and secure spot for them to pick up their stuff at hours that work with their schedules. We look forward to bringing this experience to more universities soon.”
states Paul Ryder, Vice President of Media and Student Programs at Amazon in the press release.
When ordering, students simply use the Amazon@Purdue shipping address. Once the item has arrived at the pick-up location, students receive a SMS or email, print out a barcode and collect the package at a self-service locker or at the pick-up desk.
As part of the arrangement Purdue University receives commission on sales of students, faculty, staff and alumni made through the program. Amazon has similar arrangements with the University of California, Davis and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Establishing this program means that Amazon is now in direct competition with campus bookstores and edtech companies like Chegg. Students at Purdue can now easily return their rented textbooks on campus and order other items related to campus life, something Chegg has been building through acquisitions of various startups, like Campus Special, over the past years though most acquisitions focus on digital services around career planning and employment.
Further Reading
Amazon Launches First-Ever Staffed Campus Pickup and Drop-Off Location, Free One-Day Pickup at Purdue University | Press Release