Royal Mail rolling out solar-powered ‘postboxes of the future’

POST BOX: Parcels up top the size of a showbox can now be posted in the same way as letters (Image: Getty)

Royal Mail is introducing 3,500 solar-powered “postboxes of the future” nationwide. These boxes are equipped with a digitally activated drop-down drawer that enables customers to post shoebox-sized parcels.

The revolutionary design – representing the most significant transformation to the postbox in its 175-year existence – underwent testing in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire earlier this year, and will now be deployed in cities including Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sunderland.

Users scan a barcode via the Royal Mail app to activate the drawer, which accommodates parcels too big to pass through the conventional slot. The revamped boxes also include a distinct slot for letters, plus a solar panel to operate the scanner and drawer system.

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Of course, people will still have to pay for postage ahead of using the new boxes and that can be done online via the Royal Mail app or website.

Jack Clarkson, managing director of out-of-home and commercial excellence at Royal Mail, said: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before. This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.”

Royal Mail said the rollout is part of its drive to make posting, collecting and returning parcels as convenient as possible. Alongside its home delivery and collection services, the company said there are now more than 23,500 parcel points across the UK, including lockers, Collect+ stores, Post Office branches, Royal Mail customer service points and existing parcel postboxes.

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