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Second-class deliveries on Saturdays could become a thing of the past under proposed changes to the postal service.
Ofcom has announced plans to cut second-class mail deliveries to every other weekday, with no second-class deliveries on Saturdays. The proposals also include a price cap on second-class stamps.
The suggestions from the regulator are part of plans to put the universal service “on a more sustainable footing”. First-class letters would still be delivered six days per week.
Figures from Ofcom show that the way Brits use the postal service has changed dramatically. Royal Mail was delivering 20 billion letters per year 20 years ago – but that number is now 6.6 billion per year, and it is expected to drop to four billion per year in the next few years.
Declining volumes have driven up the average cost of delivering a letter, as postal workers are walking more routes but delivering fewer letters. This means Royal Mail has been losing hundreds of millions of pounds.
Ofcom warned that if the universal service does not evolve to align with customer needs, it risks becoming unsustainable, and people could end up paying higher prices than necessary.
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Ofcom’s research found that affordability and reliability are now more important to people than speed of delivery.
Eight in 10 (78%) people said they value having a next-day service available for when they need to send the occasional urgent item, and a similar proportion (82%) value being able to send something for the same price anywhere in the UK.
The research also found that most postal users said they do not need delivery six days per week for the majority of letters.
According to Ofcom’s calculations, the changes suggested would enable Royal Mail to realise annual net cost savings of between £250m and £425m. It said this money could enable it to improve reliability and redeploy existing resources to growth areas such as parcels.
Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications, said: “The world has changed – we’re sending a third of the letters we were 20 years ago. We need to reform the postal service to protect its future and ensure it delivers for the whole of the UK.
“But we’re safeguarding what matters most to people – first-class mail six days a week at the same price throughout the UK, and a price cap on second-class stamps.”
Royal Mail’s service has been under par in recent years. It was fined £10.5m by Ofcom in December 2024 for poor delivery performance. It was also fined £5.6m by Ofcom in November 2023 for its performance in 2022/23.
