Royal Mail adds AR to its app so senders can auto size parcels – and pay the postage

There’s an app for that: latest Royal Mail app takes some of the pain out of postage

The latest update of the Royal Mail App is bringing a raft of new innovation to enhance customer convenience, including AR parcel sizing. The company is also adding delivery tracking to its Alexa skill.

As part of the update, Royal Mail has launched a new Augmented Reality (AR) parcel sizer. Royal Mail is the first delivery provider in the UK to enable customers to use AR technology to improve their experience. The parcel sizer is a tool available with AR supported devices to help users find the right format size and price for their item. Users can then purchase postage directly via the app, making it simpler than ever to send a parcel.

Users of the Royal Mail App will also be able to track an item using Alexa simply by saying a code name (alias) they have previously set for a mail item on the App. After setting up the code name, users need to simply say ‘Alexa Ask Royal Mail to track my item’. Alexa will say ‘tell me the reference number or alias of the item you’d like to track’. Once confirmed Alexa will give the latest status of the item.

The latest version of the App also enables users to access previous labels for postage by using the new sending history feature available from the home screen. This will show users the sending history for postage bought on the app only.

Since the launch of the Royal Mail App last year, it has been downloaded more than 500,000 times. This is the first major milestone on a journey to being the go-to app for parcel shipping and ‎tracking. In the last year, there have been several updates that have allowed users to do everything from buy postage in a few simple steps, enter part of an address to find the full address, track items from an ID number, get delivery alerts and book redeliveries.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail says: “The updated Royal Mail App is helping users to manage their deliveries more efficiently and is rapidly growing with the number of downloads increasing every month. Royal Mail is the first in the industry in the UK to launch an augmented reality feature in its App, making it simpler than ever to send a parcel. The new features of the Royal Mail App are part of our commitment to investing in technology that improves the customer experience for both senders and recipients.”