Royal Mail set to hike stamp costs amid spiralling inflation and letter decline

Royal Mail is set to hike stamp prices as spiralling inflation ramps up costs and letter usage continues to decline.

The price of a first class stamp will increase by 10p to 95p, the Royal Mail has announced, while second class stamps will increase by 2p to 68p, with the new prices coming into effect on April 4.

Letter volumes have fallen by more than 60 per cent since their peak in 2004/5 and by around 20 per cent since the start of the pandemic.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: “We understand that many companies and households are finding it hard in the current economic environment, and we will always keep our prices as affordable as possible.

“Whilst the number of letters our postmen and women deliver has declined from around 20 billion a year to around seven billion since 2004/5, the number of addresses they have to deliver to has grown by around 3.5 million in the same period.

Landon said Royal Mail had to strike a fine balance between pricing and the soaring costs of delivering letters to a “growing number of addresses six days a week”.

The decision to hike price was necessary to ensure universal ‘one-price-goes anywhere’ service was protected for future generations, Landon warned.