MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When your next FedEx delivery arrives, you may receive a photo of the package on your front porch.
The courier giant announced the rollout of "Picture Proof of Delivery" in a Wednesday press release. The company said customers with packages that don't require a signature delivered to residential addresses in "select markets" will be able to access to free feature "soon." It'll be available via the company's tracking tools or FedEx's Delivery Manager app, regardless if the recipient has an account or login.
A spokesperson for FedEx declined to elaborate on which markets will be included in the initial rollout or when the first phase of the implementation will begin, but reaffirmed that the general release will be made available to most U.S. and Canadian customers in time for the holiday season.
Amazon has had a similar program since around 2018 to photograph where deliveries were left.
“Receiving visual confirmation that the package has arrived gives peace of mind to both merchants and consumers, and we are thrilled to give them that confidence," said Brie Carere, FedEx's Chief Customer Officer.
FedEx is also marketing the new service to small business clients, who often bear the cost when a package goes missing. The new program will allow merchants to get visual proof for many packages in their shipping dashboard, according to FedEx.
Alongside the rise of e-commerce sales during the pandemic was a rise of package thefts, according to statistics from C+R Research. In 2020, the firm found that 43% of people had at least one instance of package theft, up 7% from the previous year.
Moreover, nearly one third of all survey respondents indicated that they don't believe delivery companies were not doing enough to prevent package theft.
