How Tariffs Drive Early Holiday Shopping and Demand for Smart Package Rooms

May 28, 2025 | Blog, News

With U.S. consumers facing a volatile and unpredictable tariff landscape, many are opting to begin their back-to-school and holiday shopping much earlier than in previous years. The most recent 90-day tariff announcements and extensions with China and the EU have only heightened consumer uncertainty prompting a surge in online ordering, as shoppers rush to avoid potential price hikes and product shortages.

While this shift may reduce stress and offer an opportunity to lock in lower prices before tariffs take effect, it creates a new and often overlooked challenge: the secure delivery and storage of their eCommerce purchases, particularly oversized and high-value items.

Many of the purchases being made—ranging from laptops and electronics to furniture and oversized baby gear—are not only expensive but also too large to fit into traditional package delivery systems, such as lockers. As a result, consumers and property managers alike are grappling with how to ensure these early investments remain safe from theft and damage once they arrive. Position Imaging’s all-in-one Smart Package Room® system aligns with consumer demands for a smart, secure, and scalable solution to multifamily package management.

The New Urgency Around Early Shopping

From furniture, high-end electronics, workout equipment, and oversized baby items, shoppers are scooping up big-ticket and larger items now to stay ahead of price hikes and empty shelves.

According to a Numerator survey from February 2025, 23% of U.S. consumers plan to stock up on goods ahead of expected price increases due to tariffs.

“Consumers are no longer waiting for traditional shopping windows. They’re shopping strategically. That shift puts pressure on retailers and property managers to ensure the delivery experience keeps up,” says Ned Hill, CEO of Position Imaging.

Why Delivery Security Matters More Than Ever

Package theft continues to rise, especially in urban and multi-unit dwellings. According to a recent survey from Security.org, porch pirates stole $12 billion in packages in the past year, and as many as 58 million Americans have become victims in the last 12 months.

With early shoppers receiving deliveries over a longer period, the window of vulnerability is significantly extended.

“When a package goes missing, it’s more than a customer service issue; it’s a breach of trust in the system,” Hill noted. “As consumers shift to early, higher-value purchases, there’s a greater need to ensure each one makes it into the right hands,” continued Hill.

A prime success story is that of New York City’s Stuyvesant Town, the largest rental apartment complex in the United States. Stuyvesant Town has achieved a record efficiency milestone through the use of its Smart Package Room system.

The smart package management solution reduced resident pickup time by 600%, from a peak of 30 minutes when residents were forced to wait in long lines to retrieve their packages. With hundreds of thousands of deliveries into their automated package room, not a single package has been misplaced in the past four years.

Smart Package Room System: A Modern Solution for a Modern Problem

The Smart Package Room system was designed with the future in mind. Compared to lockers, the Smart Package Room accommodates packages of all shapes and sizes, including strollers, mattresses, televisions, and other large items. Its AI-powered, computer vision-enabled tracking technology ensures that every item is logged, located, and retrievable only by its rightful recipient. The intuitive user interface makes pickup as simple as scanning a code.

“We created the Smart Package Room solution to address the real-world complexity of modern deliveries,” says Hill. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20 blender or a $2,000 TV. Our system knows where it is and ensures only the intended recipient picks it up.”

All packages, including oversized and high-value items, are stored securely behind a closed-locked door with 24/7 monitoring. Designed for large residential apartment complexes, this solution can be customized to fit any space.

Best yet, the Smart Package Room solution scales easily during peak seasonal shopping and shipping periods, such as Prime Day, Cyber Monday, and annual holidays, when brands tend to offer shoppers online discounts.

Flexible, Scalable, and Built for What’s Next

The rise of e-commerce and, with it, large-package shipping isn’t slowing down. As more consumers opt for online shopping and direct-to-door delivery, multifamily buildings must be prepared to handle a broader range of items efficiently and securely.

“This isn’t a seasonal spike, it’s the new baseline,” Hill emphasizes. “Peak season shopping now stretches over months, and properties that invest in scalable infrastructure will be the ones that succeed.”

The Smart Package Room system not only provides unmatched flexibility for modern deliveries, but it also helps properties stay ahead of peak season package delivery chaos by streamlining operations, reducing lost package claims, and delivering a better resident experience.

“We’re not just solving today’s delivery issues, we’re building a platform that evolves with tomorrow’s demands,” says Hill. “Our system is designed to scale alongside shopping trends, not be outpaced by them.”

As early shopping becomes the norm and larger, more expensive items are delivered to doorsteps and apartment complexes nationwide, the need for smart, secure, and scalable delivery solutions has never been greater.

Position Imaging’s Smart Package Room system is the future-proof answer to today’s growing delivery demands, ensuring that what gets ordered early stays safe until it’s picked up.

In a landscape shaped by persistent economic uncertainty, evolving consumer behavior, and increasing threats to package security, early shopping is no longer just a trend; it has become a logistical reality. For property managers, that means rethinking delivery infrastructure not just for the short term but for the long haul.

Position Imaging’s Smart Package Room meets this moment with a solution that’s intelligent, adaptable, and built for scale.

As Hill puts it, “Innovation isn’t about keeping up. It’s about staying ahead. And in today’s environment, that means designing systems that can flex with the future of eCommerce.”