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Royal Mail has unveiled the most significant design change in 175 years to its iconic red postboxes.
The postal service is introducing 3,500 solar-powered “postboxes of the future” following a successful trial earlier this year. The innovative design will incorporate a barcode scanner which will open a drop-down drawer for parcels.
This will be powered by a solar panel, strategically positioned south for optimal sunlight. Customers will have the ability to send and return labelled parcels up to the size of a shoebox thanks to the new design.
There will also continue to be a separate slot for posting letters. Customers can request proof of posting, and track their post, using the Royal Mail app.
The futuristic postboxes were trialled in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire in April and they are now being introduced across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, reports the Mirror.
The first cities to witness them installed include Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sunderland. Royal Mail is also increasing its number of parcel points.
There are now over 23,500 locations where customers can send, return and collect parcels, including 2,000 lockers, 7,500 Collect+ stores, 11,500 Post Office branches, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,400 parcel postboxes.
Jack Clarkson, Managing Director of Out of Home and Commercial Excellence at Royal Mail, stated: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.
“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.
“Our message is clear, if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”
The announcement follows Royal Mail receiving approval from Ofcom to deliver second class mail on alternate weekdays, rather than six days a week.
Second class deliveries will also cease on Saturdays moving forward.
However, despite the reduced service, Royal Mail will maintain its target for second class letters to arrive within three working days.
First class mail will continue to be delivered six days a week, Monday to Saturday.
The regulator Ofcom estimated at the time that cutting second class deliveries would save Royal Mail between £250 million and £425 million. Besides providing cost savings for Royal Mail, Ofcom stated the decision also reflected the declining volume of letters being delivered to UK households.
Letter volumes have dropped from 20 billion twenty years ago to 6.6 billion today.
