Royal Mail to collect parcels from British doorsteps

The Royal Mail is rolling out a scheme that will enable Britons to send parcels, and return e-commerce orders, without leaving their homes.

Following successful trials of Royal Mail Parcel Collect in the West of England, the service will now be rolled out nationally. Postmen and women will be able to pick up parcels from doorsteps at a cost of 72p per parcel or 60p per parcel for pre-paid postage items.

The parcels can weigh up to 20kg and can be a little over twice the size of most airplane hand luggage (61cm by 46cm by 46cm). The move was hailed by the postal service as “one of the biggest changes to the daily delivery since the launch of the post box in 1852”.

It will enable Royal Mail to take a greater share of the parcel market, which is booming thanks to the rocketing demand for e-commerce, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Royal Mail Parcel Collect is a fantastic step forward for all of our customers. It makes it easier to use our services than ever before,” said Royal Mail chief commercial officer Nick Landon.

Royal Mail has been forced to rely increasingly on parcels, as letters drop in importance with the advent of email. Since 2004 the number of letters it delivers has halved.

This year has been particularly harsh. In the three months to the end of June the company delivered 788 million fewer letters than the same period the year before, down 33%.

The reduction was sped up by COVID-19, but even before the pandemic hit, Royal Mail was expecting a drop of up to 8% in letter volumes during the 12 months to the end of March.

Meanwhile, parcel volumes have increased greatly. The company has already tried to maximise its presence in the booming parcel market, launching parcel post boxes last year. The first parcel post service was launched in in 1883.