The Division of Business Services at the University of Pennsylvania has announced that beginning in spring 2016, a new service called Amazon@Penn  will open on Penn’s campus, providing a convenient staffed package pickup point for members of the Penn Community to receive and return Amazon orders.

The 3,558 square foot space will be strategically located in 1920 Commons, the University’s largest dining facility, with easy access for Penn students whether they live on or off campus. In addition to mobile-enabled, self-service package pick up, it will be the first Amazon pickup location to feature communal work spaces with interactive media pods where students can connect their laptops and mobile devices to TV monitors for presentations, brainstorming, studying and collaborating.

“The preference by today’s students for on-line shopping has led to a significant increase in deliveries. When we looked closely at the shipping activity, we discovered that almost half of all packages delivered to Penn student mail rooms were from Amazon,” said Marie Witt, vice president of Business Services at Penn. “With this innovative shipping solution we can now offer enhanced convenience and security for a service that our students were already using, while also providing additional community space within easy access of most student residences.”

“We're thrilled to bring a new experience that makes it more convenient for students to get everything they need for university life,” said Ripley MacDonald, director of Amazon Student Programs. “We look forward to bringing this experience to even more college communities soon.”

As part of this service, when the doors open at Amazon@Penn, students, as well as faculty and staff, will be able to activate their own personalized Penn shopping experience.  Once activated, anyone in the Penn Community can to ship to the pickup location, and Amazon Student and Prime members will receive additional shipping benefits including getting items shipped to the location Free Same-Day for orders placed by noon and Free One-Day pick up for orders placed by 10:00 PM. To learn more about Amazon Student, visit amazon.com/joinstudent.

“This initiative aligns with Penn’s goals of providing students with flexible, safe, easy-to-use options in support of their campus-life experience,” Witt said.  “Together with the expanded community space, we expect this will become a very popular location on Penn’s campus.”

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About the University of Pennsylvania
Founded in 1740, the University of Pennsylvania is one of the world’s premier teaching and research institutions, consistently ranking among the top institutions in NIH funding annually.  Penn is dedicated to providing its students rigorous academic study with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community.  Its integrated university and health system, combined with a commitment to entrepreneurship, foster innovation. To learn more, visit www.upenn.edu. 

About Amazon Student
Amazon Student gives college students free two-day shipping on millions of items, and special offers and promotions created just for students as part of the six-month free trial. After that it’s $49 a year—half the price of a regular Amazon Prime membership—and includes unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Prime Instant Video, over a million songs with Prime Music and access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. To learn more, visit amazon.com/joinstudent.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.