Royal Mail is introducing a change to its parcel delivery service in an effort to offer customers faster and more flexible options. Round-the-clock parcel lockers will be set up outside selected Post Office branches across the UK to allow customers to send, collect and return parcels 24 hours a day, including when stores are closed.
Post Office will continue to sell all Royal Mail products as usual; the service extension being trialled for six months is just to provide more options for customers when sending, collecting and returning parcels.
Royal Mail already has more than 24,000 drop-off and collection points across the country, including 11,500 Post Office branches, around 8,000 Royal Mail stores, 2,400 lockers, 1,400 postboxes and 1,200 Customer Service Points.
The new lockers, which will be in use during a six-month trial, will include label printing to assist those who do not have access to a printer at home. Customers will have to pay for postage online and scan a QR code. To return an item, customers must request a QR code.
Anna Malley, Director of Partnerships and Acquisitions at Royal Mail, said: “Post Office is one of Royal Mail’s most important partners, and this is an exciting step forward in how we work together.
“The trial reflects our commitment to meeting a wide range of customer needs whilst also maintaining existing options.”
Neill O’Sullivan, Mails and Parcels Director at Post Office, said: “We are delighted that after a 370-year partnership with Royal Mail, we continue to innovate and ensure parcel services meet the needs of customers who want the flexibility of using a locker for their parcel collection and delivery.
“We will evaluate this trial, and in particular the benefits it has brought to our postmasters and look forward to working with Royal Mail over the next few months on this trial.”