Breakfast Briefing: Matalan and Amazon

Matalan associates with DPD Pickup

Matalan has partnered with parcel shop network DPD Pickup to offer pickup locations across Britain.

Customers purchasing goods at a retailer which uses DPD can have them delivered to any of Matalan’s 222 stores, which will be open late and offer free parking, by the delivery service. 

Matalan chief customer officer Shane Quigley said: “Making life easier for families is at the heart of everything we do and we continue to work tirelessly to introduce new initiatives that do just this.

“We’re excited to roll out our partnership with DPD in time for the busy Christmas period for customers.”

DPD Pickup sends text and email notifications ahead of a scheduled home delivery so customers can divert their delivery to a pickup point at a more suitable time.

DPD is expecting an overall increase in Christmas parcel volumes of around 20%.

Amazon launches new music streaming service

Amazon has launched a voice-controlled music streaming service in the UK.

The service – Amazon Music Unlimited – includes 40 million songs and thousands of playlists that can be requested via Amazon’s Echo smart home device.

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said: “Amazon Music Unlimited brings real value to the millions of people in the UK who are already Prime members, with a choice of subscribing for only £7.99 a month or even £79 per year.

“And if you want a sense of the future of voice-controlled music, go ahead and ask Alexa for a free Amazon Music Unlimited trial, and play around on your Echo.”