We now live in a world where online shopping is the new normal, and it only continues to soar. In the United States alone, we expect to see e-commerce sales surpass $740 billion by 2023.*  With the growing number of package and food deliveries, drivers are slammed. Unfortunately, this workload leads to misdeliveries, and you are stuck trying to track them down.

An average Camden community has around 300 apartment homes, with some even over 700 homes. Can you imagine being a delivery driver and having to deliver to multi-family housing? I am getting tired just thinking about the stairs they climb to bring us our packages. Map pins only take drivers to the Main Office/Leasing Center. From there, it is up to them to navigate the maze and find your apartment number. 

The good news is that you can take extra steps to ensure you are the rightful recipient of your packages! 

• Apartment number: Confirm you added it to the shipping details. Many packages go back to the post office or delivery hub because of missing apartment numbers. Also, if you decorate your door for the season, make sure your apartment number is still visible.

• Be specific: Almost every online order form includes an optional field where you can add delivery instructions. Are you the first building on the left, second floor, facing West? Give the driver every detail to help them find your apartment.

• Silent delivery: Sometimes you don’t even know you have a delivery sitting at your door. Get delivery alerts!

  • Amazon will text you alerts when your order ships when it’s out for delivery, and upon delivery. Or go to the Your Account page and select Your Addresses. Identify the address for which you want to set delivery preferences and select Edit delivery preferences. 

  • UPS offers UPS My Choice for alerts and additional delivery options. 

  • FedEx also offers a delivery manager. 

  • USPS offers a similar service with their Informed Delivery program. 

While no delivery style is perfect, you can also try some of these additional suggestions:

• Schedule deliveries for when you are home.

• Request a knock on your door or ring of your doorbell. Often, drivers drop the package and leave in a hurry. Add a comment in the delivery instructions for the driver to knock or ring the doorbell.

• Watch for deliveries with a video doorbell. Camden residents can use video doorbells if they follow guidelines in their lease.

• Require a signature.

• Ask a trusted neighbor who works from home if they will accept or pick up your delivery for you. 

• Pick an alternate delivery location. Perhaps with a friend, relative, or office. 

• Pick it up at a pre-determined location - Amazon Lockers are in over 900 U.S. cities and towns. Search for one near you by logging into Amazon, then clicking Your Account > Your Addresses > New Address. Look for the section that says, “To add an Amazon Pickup Point or Locker, click here.”

To have a successful delivery starts with you. Taking extra steps may keep you from having to hunt down missing items. It also is a nice gesture to show the package carriers some appreciation by providing them with a drink or snacks. 

Photo courtesy of *Source: https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/online-shopping-statistics