Dozens of bike couriers from online food delivery firms foodora and Deliveroo cycled for the first time as a collective unit in Berlin on Thursday, protesting what they say are unfair labour conditions.
German mail service DHL said that it had not made certain personal deliveries through its express service to the Berlin district of Wedding due to fraud and attacks on their carriers, but tamped down reports of "no-go" areas.
Instead of being greeted by the smiling face of a delivery driver, German customers could soon open the door to a robot or even a drone distributing their parcels.
Subscribers to Amazon's Prime service can now receive deliveries from the online retailer on the same day they order in 14 cities across Germany – putting pressure on local competitors.