It's one of the marvels of modern technology. With just a few clicks of a mouse or touches on a screen, you can set in motion a process where a product is manufactured on the other side of the world and shipped to you across oceans.
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It's usually an easy and seamless process. But if you live in an apartment building, the impenetrable front door of the complex is often a barrier that results in the package being redirected to a post office, or worse, left to sit outside where it becomes an easy target for thieves.
As Canberra's apartment boom continues, developers are looking to address this barrier by introducing the capital's first residential building concierges.
Residents of at least three apartment complexes currently under construction in the ACT are set to have access to a concierge service when they move in. They are The Capitol in Civic, The Foothills in Campbell, and Sapphire on the Kingston Foreshore.
Strata Community Association ACT president Chris Miller said concierges in residential buildings were "almost guaranteed" to become more common.
"I think it's driven by a cultural change that's broader than just apartments," Mr Miller said.
"It's connected to the notion of convenience being a priority in people's lives. Online shopping, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and grocery deliveries have been a feature of society for a little while.
"The problem with this in strata is the last 100 metres to the customer."
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Mr Miller said having a concierge to help receive deliveries was just "the obvious, narrow example" of what they could do.
He believed that as developments became more sophisticated, apartment buildings could eventually have an app, through which residents could have the concierge facilitate things like drycleaning, pet-walking and car detailing.
"Once you start to pull on that thread a little bit, there are all kinds of things that are available in some form or another through technology and the gig economy, but they're limited if you live in a strata building," Mr Miller said.
Concierges in Canberra have traditionally been limited to commercial buildings, but they are common in residential complexes in places like New York City.
The Capitol, which is due for completion this year, will have a "hotel-style concierge" in its lobby to help residents with things like package storage, keeping online grocery delivery services in a cool room, and a drycleaning service.
It is being marketed as bringing "the luxuries of the finest international city apartment buildings to Canberra".
Doma Group general manager of development Gavin Edgar said the company was working through options for a concierge service at The Foothills development in Campbell.
He said having someone to take care of deliveries was the first objective, but Doma Group was also looking at whether its residential concierge service might include access to some of the services on offer in the company's hotels, like laundry and drycleaning.
"We believe our customers are going to want those sorts of services, so we're looking at a range of different ways of delivering a better experience to residents," Mr Edgar said.
"If it's a success, we'd be looking to offer it to future residents of our other projects."
Sapphire project director Arthur Petsas said the Kingston building would have a concierge on weekdays.
"The market for Sapphire is predominantly downsizers who also want the convenience of having someone faciliate outcomes for them, whether that's accepting parcels on their behalf or making arrangements like reservations or booking taxis," he said.
"I think we will start to see more of a focus on service across residential developments, but that might look different at different places depending on the type of demographic that lives there."
