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By Linn’s Staff
Great Britain’s Royal Mail will raise its first-class domestic postage rate Oct. 7.
The cost for first-class postage will climb 30 pence, from £1.35 to £1.65. The second-class rate will remain unchanged at 85p.
In a Sept. 6 press release announcing the new rate, Royal Mail said it “sought to keep price increases as low as possible,” citing inflation, declining letter volumes and costs associated Royal Mail’s Universal Service, which requires the delivery of letters and parcels within the United Kingdom at a fixed price regardless of distance.
Royal Mail’s chief commercial officer Nick Landon said: “A complex and extensive network is needed to get every letter and parcel across the country for a single price – travelling on trucks, planes, ferries and in some cases drones before it reaches its final destination on foot. We are proud to deliver the Universal Service, but the financial cost is significant.”
Landon said the Universal Service “must adapt to reflect changing customer preferences and increasing costs.”
Although there is a decrease in letter volume, Royal Mail faces an increase in the number of addresses. “Letter volumes have fallen from 20 billion in 2004/5 to around 6.7 billion a year in 2023/4,” Royal Mail said. “As a result, the average household now receives just four letters per week, compared to 14 per week in 2004/5.”
Royal Mail said its rates remain below the European mean average prices of £1.73 for the equivalent of a first-class letter service and £1.33 for second class, according to a calculation Royal Mail conducted across 29 countries during July 2024.
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