This is another round of the "Amazon vs Walmart" war. People without banks or credit cards currently shop at Walmart. Now it is much easier for them to shop at Amazon.
I suspect many of us on HN have a distorted view of how hassle-free online shopping is because we live in buildings or neighborhoods where packages can be left without signature with a high probability of making it to us and many of us have the luxury of working from home on the odd day when we need to sign for an expected delivery.
That's what Amazon Locker is for. Not sure how widespread this is though.
I view this less as Amazon competing directly with Walmart than a Safeway or CVS using Amazon to provide more value to its current customer base.
Not sure if it's 100% accurate, but as an example, there doesn't seem to be a single Amazon locker location in the entire state of Mississippi according to Google Maps.
But it's easier to get packages near home now that UPS (at least here in NYC) just rolled out the 'Access Point' program where one can get their packages delivered to local grocery stores, bodegas, etc. for free. You just bring in an ID and pick up the package.
I lived for several years without a bank account and throughout that time I always had a home and a shipping address. Millions of people in the US don't have bank accounts. Not because they are vagrants or homeless but simply because they live too close to the margins to afford the potential economic chaos that having a bank account can cause.
Also unbanked can purchase amazon gift cards with cash.