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Online shopping could get a lot easier for Purdue students, as the university has partnered with Amazon for its first brick-and-mortar store on a college campus. The new storefront is offering students a pick up and drop-off location for packages purchased through the company.
The store, [email protected], allows students to place store orders via Amazon Student, and leverage an existing service that provides free shipping. Students then receive an email or text notification when their orders arrive at the storefront on Purdue's West Lafayette, Indiana campus.
As an added incentive to use the new [email protected] location, the company is offering free one-day shipping for purchases shipped to the new location. Students can also get 2-day shipping on Amazon Prime items delivered to the store.
According to a report from the Lafayette Journal & Courier reveals that [email protected] has been examining data since the store's unofficial launch earlier this semester. The results to this point have exceeded expectations when it comes to student and staff savings.
"Our estimate had been 35% savings on textbooks. So far, it looks to be north of 40%," says Mitch Daniels, Purdue University president and former Indiana Governor.
When it comes time to pick up a package, students are given two options; they can choose to speak with an Amazon store clerk, or retrieve their package from an automated storage locker. Students make this choice directly from the email notification screen. Packages remain in the lockers for 15 minutes once a student makes their pick up order.
While textbooks may offer students the most significant savings, the [email protected] store is expected to support the full range of products that students can purchase from the online retailer. Since opening its doors, Amazon reports that students have utilized the service to purchase school supplies, video games, as well as consumer electronics and accessories.
While Purdue is the first university to adopt the Amazon storefront, the company has also announced partnerships with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of California-Davis.
