Fresh & Proper in Fordham has become the first convenience store in the UK with one of Royal Mail’s new parcel lockers

Fresh & Proper in Fordham, Cambridgeshire, has become the first convenience store in the whole of the UK to host one of Royal Mail’s new parcel lockers.

The locker is now available 24/7 for customers to drop off parcels and will soon be expanded to offer collection. Label printing is available, meaning customers simply need to pay for postage online and print the label by scanning a QR code at the locker, or request a QR code if returning a purchase.

Royal Mail launched its own parcel locker network in December to meet growing demand for convenient parcel drop-off and collection options from online shoppers and growing numbers of people selling on secondhand marketplaces. Prices start from as little as £1.55 online for a small parcel – the cheapest on the market.

Pictured (left) is one of the new lockers at this year’s National Convenience Show. The lockers are user operated and the printer for labels is located near the screen in the centre.

Joshua James (main pic), MD of Fresh & Proper, said: “We’re delighted to have a locker for the use of our customers and community and are honoured to be the first convenience store in the UK to be able to offer this service. We know our customers do lots of online shopping so we hope this will make it easier for them to do their returns.”

Anna Malley, director of partnerships and acquisitions at Royal Mail, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to send and collect their parcels, and rolling out our locker network is key to that. Fresh & Proper is exactly the kind of location we’re looking for, it’s popular and at the heart of the community, and people can drop off their parcels whilst doing their shopping.”