The move is in part the result of growing e-commerce parcel service demand.

Kristi Unt, board member at Omniva, said the company: "Has the largest network across the Baltics, with 960 parcel machines in total, but the volume of parcel deliveries is growing and the expectation for new machines remains high."

"We want to offer the best service close to home, and to this end we are installing more parcel machines and replacing the outdated ones with new ones," Unt went on via an Omniva press release.

Omniva's machines (pictured) are located outdoors and can be accessed at any time of the day or day of the week, to send parcels to other machines across the Baltics, to post offices, or for courier delivery, while parcels up to a maximum siz of 39cm × 38cm × 64cm can be sent to other parts of the EU.

A popular method of receiving online purchases and packages sent by private persons alike, return and parcel storage services are also available as an additional service.

Of the 309 parcel machines in Estonia, almost 30 are located in settlements where Omniva is the only service provider present, Unt said, calling supporting people living in smaller or more remote settlements responsible, not least because they have fewer alternative options.

"This year, in cooperation with local municipalities, we installed nearly 40 new parcel machines across Estonia. Many of these were located in small villages, where until now there were no parcel machines," Unt added, while 10 more locations are to have new parcel machines also. 

 "At the end of this year and into next year, we will also upgrade the Estonian network with 115 parcel machines, which includes replacing outdated ones and installing new ones," she went on.

Use of such machines also saw a surge during the worst of the Covid pandemic, when many bricks-and-mortar stores were shuttered.

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