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ZigZag Global, a leading provider of technology-driven retail returns solutions, is announcing a strategic partnership with Royal Mail, the universal service provider that delivers a ‘one-price-goes-anywhere’ service to 32 million addresses across Britain. This collaboration will enable ZigZag’s retailers to offer their customers a convenient home collection service operated by one of the UK’s most trusted carrier services.
In the ever-evolving retail landscape, ensuring a seamless and hassle-free returns experience has become a critical factor for customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, customer demands and needs for the returns process change year by year and differ regionally. This means it is vital that retailers and carrier services update their offerings to provide its customers with choice.
By joining forces, Royal Mail and ZigZag will provide flexibility for the UK customers of some of the country’s largest retailers. Royal Mail’s Parcel Collect service successfully launched in October 2020, at a time when many people were working from home due to the pandemic and demand for returns to be collected from doorsteps was high.
Collection from home requests for online returns continued to grow in popularity, rising by nearly 30% in the first few months of 2023 compared to the same period the year before. According to ZigZag Global’s recent consumer study of over 2,000 UK shoppers, around half of consumers now demand that their retailer offer a home collection option. Whether you are a young professional working from home or a busy parent, Royal Mail’s Parcel Collect is a convenient and accessible option.
Customers will be redirected from the retailer’s website seamlessly to ZigZag’s returns portal where they will select the items they wish to return from their basket, and the reason for doing so. Customers will then be able to select Royal Mail’s Parcel Collect as a returns option, before downloading their label. This user-friendly process takes less than a minute to complete and doesn’t require a printer – customers can instead request that their postie brings a pre-printed label on collection.
Nick Landon, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Mail, commented: “Parcel Collect has been incredibly successful since it was launched almost three years ago. Everyone knows when their postie delivers so it’s really convenient to arrange for them to collect a parcel that needs to be sent or returned at the same time. If customers aren’t going to be in, Royal Mail can also collect from a safe place. To make it even more convenient, if customers don’t have a printer our posties can print and bring the label to the doorstep. Parcel Collect is part of our commitment to continuously make our services more convenient as we reinvent the way we deliver to and from our customers.”
Matthew Jacques, Global Partnerships Director added, “We are delighted to be working alongside Royal Mail to deliver the Parcel Collect service in the UK. Each customer’s definition of an exceptional returns service is different. So, it is imperative that retailers offer choice. Whether that’s options on how they want to be refunded, alternatives to home-printed labels, and of course, how they get the goods back to you. Parcel Collect is a fantastic, convenient service for our retailers to be able to offer their customers.”
In addition, customers can add details of a safe place to leave the parcel if they are not going to be home. This reduces missed deliveries and the associated carbon emissions, whilst simultaneously improving customer service. Royal Mail “has the lowest reported carbon emissions per parcel amongst major UK delivery companies”.
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