Royal Mail boosts e-tail with parcels collection service

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 21, 2020

​Britain's Royal mail unveiled a new development on Wednesday that should boost online retail for larger companies as it makes returns easier, but should also help small businesses and individual sellers trading online.

In what it called “one of the biggest shake-ups to the daily delivery since the launch of the postbox in 1852,” it's announced the launch of a parcel pick-up service across the UK as part of the daily round. 

The new Parcel Collect will see postmen and postwomen collecting mail direct from customers’ doors or a nominated safe place for a small fee. The maximum parcel size is 61cm x 46cm x 46cm and the maximum weight is 20kg.

The company said this means that “as well as offering higher levels of convenience, online sellers and online shoppers will no longer need to leave the comfort of their home if they want to mail or return a pre-paid item by post. This is of particular relevance during the pandemic”.

And it’s undeniable that the service will have an impact given the unwillingness of some consumers to venture out at present, and also the fact that there are far fewer post offices in the country from which to mail parcels now than there were just a few years ago.

In a recent consumer survey, 44% of respondents said they're likely to use a home collection service offered by their delivery provider.

Parcels can now be collected from a customer’s front door for a charge of 72p per parcel, plus the postage costs. Parcel Collect is also available for pre-paid return items at a cost of 60p per item. And the company said it will collect up to five parcels per address six days a week, with booking up to five days in advance.

In order to use the service, people will need to ensure they’ve already paid the correct postage to send their item. 

The nationwide rollout follows an initial launch of Parcel Collect in certain postcode areas of West England.