GLS has nearly doubled its out-of-home (OOH) delivery network across Europe over the past two years, expanding from 70,000 to 130,000 locations as of December 2025.
The parcel operator said that 29% of its business-to-consumer parcels are now delivered to or collected from OOH points, with volumes more than doubling compared with December 2024. Growth has been driven by markets including Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and Poland, with peak-season OOH volumes rising 43% year-on-year.
GLS said it aims to have 30,000 of its own parcel lockers by 2030 while continuing to expand its pickup and drop-off (PUDO) network and partner locker systems. The combined European network currently includes about 100,000 parcel shops and 30,000 lockers.
Johan Holstein, digital and last-mile transformation director at GLS Group, said the growth reflects changing delivery preferences. “GLS’s European OOH network has almost doubled in 24 months, highlighting the rapid shift in consumer delivery preferences,” he stated. “With demand continuing to rise, we’re growing with purpose, focused on quality and accessibility and committed to sustaining this momentum as we build one of Europe’s leading OOH networks.”
GLS said its expansion is being supported by strategic partnerships across several markets, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. In Germany, a collaboration with DPD is expected to create around 20,000 shared drop-off and pickup points over the coming years. In the Czech Republic, a partnership with DPD provides access to 2,100 jointly usable parcel lockers, while in the Netherlands, an agreement with PostNL gives access to around 1,300 lockers.
The company said its parcel shop network is particularly well established in Italy, Denmark and Spain, with a focus on premium locations to improve accessibility and service quality. Despite the expansion of OOH services, GLS said home delivery remains a core part of its offering.
GLS and its UK sister company, Royal Mail, both part of International Distribution Services, are expanding OOH infrastructure in parallel. Royal Mail has increased its number of parcel lockers and shops by 80% in one year and is targeting 45,000 parcel points in the UK by 2030.
In related news, Pickup expands parcel locker network in France