TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2020 /CNW/ - PUDO Inc. ("PUDO" or "the Company") (CSE: PDO) (OTCQB: PDPTF), North America's only carrier-neutral parcel pick-up and drop-off Network, is pleased to announce that, just in time to relieve the widely anticipated and publicized 'crush' of holiday e-commerce deliveries, the Company introduces PAGO, its new Pay-As-you-GO service that consolidates 'click and collect' deliveries from any and all online retailers located anywhere in the world, to any Canadian PUDOpoint Counters location close to where consumers live, work, or play. 

"PAGO is an entirely flexible, infinitely scalable consumer-driven version of the BOPIS model (buy online pick-up in store or other physical location) that is becoming more and more prevalent in the omnichannel flow," says PUDO CEO Frank Coccia. "As more and more purchases are made online from disparate retailers, it is becoming less convenient for consumers to a) be at home to receive deliveries, and b) travel to multiple pick-up locations, oftentimes having to schedule and juggle pick-up times in advance. PAGO makes things simple for a population already stressed by the pandemic." 

PAGO launched softly one month ago, providing first access to registered PUDO members in Canada, and effective immediately, the service is offered to all Canadians. The Company plans for a U.S. launch in the spring of 2021.

The click and collect option has been growing steadily in popularity for the past several years. In 2016, up to one-third of online shoppers chose a pick-up location, and that number has increased dramatically, with a 554% increase YOY in May of 2020*.  E-commerce and omnichannel stakeholders in the United States and Canada are struggling to respond to demand.

By consolidating click and collect, PAGO offers many advantages for consumers, retailers, couriers, PUDOpoint Counters operators, and the environment.

• Online shoppers can reduce their public exposure by consolidating several pick-ups into one visit to a single location, where parcels are held for pick-up, ensuring fewest human touch points possible.
• Courier companies and their agents convert high-cost B2C deliveries into cost-effective B2B deliveries, eliminating failed-first-attempt deliveries (nobody home) and unattended parcel theft entirely, while still earning per-parcel-delivered fees.
• PUDOpoint Counters operators welcome existing customers into their small businesses more often, and benefit from new customers coming in to pick-up parcels; revenues, foot traffic, impulse purchases increase.
• By consolidating parcels by 50:1 or more in courier delivery trucks driving to neighborhood PUDOpoints for a single drop-off, instead of delivering to multiple locations, CO2 emissions, truck traffic and noise are reduced 50:1 or greater also.

With the increasing concerns around health and safety, and second wave COVID-19 numbers escalating, the e-commerce ecosystem needs more help than ever resolving so-called last-mile gridlock — that sticky and unsustainably expensive distance between regional courier warehouses and consumers. 

PUDO has been expanding rapidly since June of this year, adding 30 to 50 PUDOpoint Counters locations per week to its North American Network. Parcel volumes and revenues to date have been driven by Network partnered courier, online retailer, and SaaS companies who pay PUDO (per parcel) to access the PUDOpoint Counters Network as an exercise in virtually extending their own.

Currently, the decision to direct parcels to a PUDOpoint Counters location is made by a) consumers choosing a PUDOpoint Counters location as their ship-to address in the online checkouts of partner retailers, or b) by partnered courier companies re-directing failed-first-attempt deliveries.  In both cases, PUDO is paid by its partners, and consumers pick up their parcels at no cost to them.

With the Canadian launch of PAGO, PUDO consumer and small business members will have the option of using any PUDOpoint Counters location as their home-away-from-home ship-to location, in the online check-out of any retailer anywhere in the world.  If that retailer is already a registered PUDOpoint Counters Network partner, the click-and-collect service is free of charge, but if the retailer is not yet part of the Network, a small handling fee applies.  Pre-purchased or on-demand PAGO credits are managed within the PUDO platform, and customers remain free to choose from the original menu of delivery location options.

"As we grow the PUDOpoint Counters Network and partner with more and more online retailers and couriers, we hope to become ubiquitous within the e-commerce ecosystem to the point where our parcel pick-up services are free to consumers 100% of the time.  Until then we have PAGO, an affordable click and collect option for consumers that also benefits our operators and the environment," concludes Coccia.

Additional PAGO benefits and PUDO consumer and small business member services will be announced during the coming months. For more information visit the Member Benefits pages of the PUDO website.

*  bringg.com

About PUDO Inc.

PUDO Inc. is North America's only carrier-neutral parcel pick-up and drop-off counter Network, conceived to resolve the last-mile parcel-traffic-control gridlock that challenges North America's $827B retail e-commerce sector, and eliminate over $6B in door-dropped parcel theft.

PUDO's team of logistics and parcel traffic management experts have created a plug-and-play, pay-as-you-go platform and Network of parcel pick-up and drop-off storefront counters known as PUDOpoint Counters, strategically located very near to where people live, work and play.

The PUDO model reduces or eliminates crippling last-mile related expenses for online retailers, marketplaces and carrier/delivery partners, with fulfillment and distribution solutions that include parcel storage and consolidation for click-and-collect deliveries, online returns, and the nearly 35% of e-commerce parcels that are undeliverable on first attempt.

Membership in the PUDOpoint Counters Network program offers consumers 'parcel receipt certainty,' early/late/weekend pick-up and return convenience, 100% elimination of door-drop parcel theft, and a mobile home-away-from-home address Network that goes wherever they do.

The PUDOpoint Counters Network provides all carriers, retailers, and consumers with badly needed cost controls, choice, and convenience.

To signup for PUDO News Feed please subscribe at https://www.pudopoint.com/en/news.

For more information about the PUDOpoint Counters Network, please visit www.pudopoint.com 

Information in this press release that is not current or historical factual information may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws, such as statements regarding estimated revenues from new contracts, increased parcel volume, activation and implementation of PUDO's technology and possible future expansions of PUDO's operations. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions of management, including assumptions concerning PUDO's ability to integrate its new customers into its network and successfully execute on its new and existing contracts. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "can", "will", "should", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, without limitation, uncertainties with respect to service implementation, the economic results of the relationship on the operations of the Company, changes in general economic, market, or business conditions, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. This press release, in particular the information in respect of estimated revenues, may contain future-oriented financial information or financial outlook within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such future-oriented financial information or financial outlook has been prepared for the purpose of providing information about management's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by law.

SOURCE PUDO Inc.

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2020/10/c2560.html