Royal Mail announces major roll-out of new service – but not until after Christmas

Postal giant Royal Mail wants to install thousands of lockers that allow customers to drop off and pick-up items whenever they want

Royal Mail has launched its own on-street lockers amid a boom in people selling clothes and other secondhand items online.

The first have been installed outside the postal giant’s Mount Pleasant mail centre in London, with 250 lockers to be rolled out in early 2025. Thousands more are planned after that. The move comes as rivals such as Polish firm InPost are rushing to install lockers outside convenience stores, railway stations and elsewhere.

They allow items to be left in compartments where recipients can collect them when they want, rather than having to wait in for a courier to arrive at their home. The trend has been fuelled by online orders in general as well as people shopping for clothes and other items on marketplaces such as eBay, Depop and Vinted.

Royal Mail said its lockers would be reserved for its own customers. They will situated in spaces outside of its own delivery offices, as well as other retailers. For now they will be limited to people wanting to send items, and will include label printing. It says customers will also be able to collect parcels from them in the near future.

However. it means fewer people needing to go to post office branches. Royal Mail says there is clear demand for more parcel points, especially among younger people and those in towns and cities.

Jack Clarkson, its group strategy and transformation director, said: “With continued growth in online shopping, we are expanding our range of services for customers to make sending and receiving parcels more convenient than ever. Parcel Lockers are just one of the ways that we will achieve this, and with their growth in popularity, it is important that we have our own lockers to offer a modern, quick and convenient option for our customers. The roll out of Royal Mail lockers is good news for online shoppers, small businesses sending their orders and the UK public in general.”

The move comes as Royal Mail faces intense competition from rival parcel firms and a sharp rise in costs.