Delivery drivers ‘more popular than posties’

Parcel deliveries are now more frequent than letters as online shopping expands and fewer businesses use traditional mail.

A report says postal workers deliver letters to British households an average of 2.3 times a week compared with 2.7 times a week for parcels.

The trend is even more pronounced among young people, who receive an average of 5.4 parcels every week.

The Under the Bonnet report, commissioned by Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, notes that the larger number of parcels going to younger Britons is being driven by their clothes-shopping habits, in particular the use of Vinted, the second-hand clothing app, which now has 16 million users in the UK.

The findings reveal that Britons are ordering so much online that many households are more familiar with their local delivery drivers than their postman or woman.

The study notes: “The humble postman has been part of our cultural furniture for over 200 years — as British as a cup of tea or unpredictable summer weather. But they’re facing stiff competition in the country’s affections with 47 per cent of Britons believing delivery drivers now play a more important role in their community than posties.

“Amid the boom in online shopping and home deliveries a similar proportion said they feel as much warmth and affection towards delivery drivers as they do towards their postman.”

The report says survey evidence shows the public is now just as likely to tip a delivery driver as a postman at Christmas — and more likely to offer them a drink or let them use their lavatory.

Royal Mail says it is now delivering half as many letters as ten years ago. Over the same period, the value of online sales has nearly tripled.

According to an analysis of government data, one of the consequences has been an extra 1.2 million delivery vans on the roads, taking the total to more than 4.5 million.

Experts predict that the popularity of internet shopping will continue to grow, with the value of online sales expected to expand by a further 8 per cent this year. That means the online sales will account for 38 per cent of all retail sales next year, comfortably higher than during the pandemic when many bricks-and-mortar retailers were shut.

The report says that the generational shift in spending habits means households are building closer and more trusting relationships with delivery drivers, with a third saying they would offer them a glass of water on a hot day.

It found households are more likely to ask delivery drivers for local service recommendations than postmen or tradesmen.

Sarah Palfreyman, sales director of Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, said: “Our Under the Bonnet report demonstrates the crucial role van drivers play in our communities, fuelled by the rise in online shopping and home deliveries.”

Simon Deniel, 55,an ex-serviceman from Northumberland, who has been working as a delivery driver for five years, says he has seen first hand how people’s online shopping habits have changed.

“So many of us started getting our groceries delivered to avoid contact with others but now have settled into the rhythm of online shopping because, frankly, it’s so much easier,” he said.

“Now, after five years on the job, I’ve got to know so many people so well within my community that if I’m in the area of a customer I haven’t seen for a while, I’ll make sure to pop in and say hello. I even go in for a cup of tea from time to time.

“You get to know them and their families, and that’s what makes the job so rewarding.”