Fast Five Shorts | PorchPals: Solving Package Theft or Passing the Buck?
In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Ocampo Capital Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss:
PorchPals, a new insurance product for stolen packages, is now available nationwide. This week on Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga dive into the numbers behind package theft, Porch Pals’ subscription model, and whether retailers or consumers should take the lead in solving this $13.4 billion problem.
Key Moments:
[00:00] PorchPals subscription model overview
[02:30] The staggering cost of porch piracy
[03:40] Who should pay: retailers or consumers?
[05:20] Alternative solutions for package theft protection
[07:10] Personalized insurance at checkout: a better model?
#PorchPals #packagedelivery #ecommercetrends #retailinnovation
For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/J8I1H1pFBT8
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcript
According to Retail Dive, Porch Pals, an insurance product designed to cover the loss of stolen packages, has opened a waitlist to subscribe.
Speaker A:Chris which is now available nationally.
Speaker A:In the US last year, according to Capital One Research, one of every 180 packages delivered was stolen, totaling 119 million US consumers who lost $13.4 billion to package theft, with each package being worth $112.3 on average per the same report.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Porch Pals protection, which costs $15 per month, or $120 total with an annual subscription, is linked to a customer's debit or credit card.
Speaker A:The company touts the coverage as broad and efficient, noting that it applies to deliveries from a variety of retailers that and that a claim can be filed in minutes and that reimbursement is sent within 72 hours of an approved claim.
Speaker A:The coverage also does not require victims of package theft to file a police report.
Speaker A:There are also some limits to the Porch Pals coverage, though.
Speaker A:Subscribers can only make up to three claims each year, totaling $2,000 or less.
Speaker A:Chris, this is also the A and M put you on the spot question this week.
Speaker B:Geez, I feel like I'm on a streak with these questions.
Speaker A:You are.
Speaker A:You are.
Speaker A:You keep getting them.
Speaker A:Chris A wants to know who should bear the financial burden of package theft.
Speaker A:Is it a cost of doing business for retailers, or should consumers take it on, as the Porch Pals model inherently suggests, asking a different way given former New York Giant player Adore Jackson.
Speaker A:Did I say his name right?
Speaker B:Adore, you did, and you nailed it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Who co founded Porch Pals?
Speaker A:Is the one thing that the New York Giants have gotten right this year?
Speaker A:Or is it yet another fumble and organizational debacle?
Speaker A:Affectionately yours, a tortured New York Giants fan.
Speaker A:Uh, I'm going to.
Speaker A:I'm really glad you got this one, because I do not follow sports closely enough to know what the hell they're talking about.
Speaker A:So, Chris, you know, the floor is yours.
Speaker B:Oh, man, that's such a great question.
Speaker B:I love when they personalize the questions like that, too.
Speaker B:From the tortured New York Giants fan that wrote it.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Sadly.
Speaker B:And I think you know how to answer that question.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B:I think this is.
Speaker B:That this is right for the consumers to take on.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker B:I really do.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm curious what you think, too, but you know, retailers have borne the brunt of E commerce and all its additional costs for a long time now.
Speaker B:And consumers are still loving E commerce.
Speaker B:It's still growing.
Speaker B:They're still demanding even more.
Speaker B:And so for the business model to work in the long run and to keep retailers in business.
Speaker B:I think if this is an issue, then then yes, I think it only makes sense for the, for the consumers to bear the cost.
Speaker B:Now, of course, not every address is created equal.
Speaker B:I understand that not everyone has the ability to afford porch piracy insurance, but I think this is a starting point and the model can still morph over time to be more democratic for everyone.
Speaker B:But this is a good start.
Speaker B:And there's other models to this as well, you know, that you can use here, you know, depending on the degree of severity too.
Speaker B:But this is the one that's been called out recently.
Speaker B:So net net.
Speaker B:So net net.
Speaker B:To answer the question fully, I think this is clearly, clearly in bold capital letters and the best scene to come out of any New York giant, past or present this year.
Speaker B:That is my statement.
Speaker A:I have nothing to compare that to, so I'm going to have to take your word for it.
Speaker A:But I do, I do agree with you that, you know, another survey that I saw in researching this was that, you know, it's $16 billion of annual loss that retailers are facing because of poor piracy and that's, it's just, it's too big of a number for retailers to try to, to cover off on.
Speaker A:And so I do agree, I think the customers are going to end up paying for this no matter what.
Speaker A:Now I am ultimately.
Speaker B:The customers pay anyway, no matter what.
Speaker A:Right, Exactly.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:Get right down to it.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:I don't know though, that I see this taking off.
Speaker A:I think that we're going to see it actually, other things happen.
Speaker A:One, I think that we'll start to see retailers the same way that we're seeing changes to return policies where they're charging for returns.
Speaker A:They're, you know, they're, they're including certain return restrictions.
Speaker A:Especially when we start to look at these subscription programs where it's like, okay, you know, we cover as part of your subscription program.
Speaker A:We'll cover, you know, any package theft that happens because they, the retailer gets the recurring revenue from the subscription program that might help offset that, that large line item of theft that's happening.
Speaker A:But I like me as a consumer, I'm not paying for this coverage.
Speaker A:There's just, I just, I could not see myself spending another $15 month in the event that, you know, three times a year I'd need this, this coverage, this.
Speaker A:But I also haven't lost any major packages and haven't ever had to deal with the situation where like, I'm out tons of Money.
Speaker A:So I think this might be like a, a situation where you don't buy it until it's happened to you or you need it.
Speaker A:And I think that retailers will end up figuring out how to handle this with customers in their own ways.
Speaker A:So, yes, I guess I'm not buying it.
Speaker B:You're not buying it.
Speaker B:So I got two, I got two, I got two points to this, I think one to the question today and Emory, is like the other option is you can still just go to the store.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:In theory.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So like, you know, or pick it.
Speaker A:Up at a location whether or not.
Speaker B:You want to pay.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Yes, pick it up.
Speaker B:A secure location.
Speaker B:My question for you though, and this is what I allude to in the other models too.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:The other model that I've seen or talked to people about is the model that's akin to like when you book an airline ticket and it says, do you want flight insurance at your.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:At the point of purchase.
Speaker B:Like, do you think that is something you could see yourself doing?
Speaker B:Because you wouldn't want it all the time.
Speaker B:You want to, want to pay monthly, but maybe for a specific item, like a big screen television.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Would you see?
Speaker B:You know, you could see yourself doing that though, for sure.
Speaker A:Like, I think that's the difference here.
Speaker A:And that gets back to like what I think we're going to start to see retailers doing like Cozy Earth, it's one of my favorite brands.
Speaker A:And they, they automatically elect for you to pay $8 for insurance in case your, your package gets stolen or something happens in transit.
Speaker A:So you have to like, as, as the purchaser, you have to go and unselect that if you don't want the coverage.
Speaker A:And so I think that that makes total sense.
Speaker A:Or in that case, you know, you give people the option to pick up in store so that they're not having something of high value sitting outside on their porch.
Speaker A:But I, so that makes sense to me.
Speaker A:I, I just, I'm not, I'm not paying for extra coverage in, in this situation.
Speaker A:I just, I still don't see myself doing that.
Speaker A:I just, I change how, how I pick up the item or how I collect the item.
Speaker B:That's really interesting.
Speaker B:So for you, the consumer still pays.
Speaker B:You just don't like this model that Porch Pals is putting out there.
Speaker B:That's basically what you're saying.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Or I mean, I also think that you look at like even headlines this week that came out like Best Buy, who's like working now more closely on getting targeted drop off Windows where you can elect.
Speaker A:Like, I think it's going to fall on the retailers to give customers a myriad of options of how they get their things before they start, you know, before we start to see customers really roll over and start paying a $15 a month fee.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think I'm with you.
Speaker B:I think I like that.
Speaker B:The design of that model a little bit better as well.
