Six ‘postboxes of the future’ installed in Exeter

Royal Mail has rolled out six solar-powered ‘postboxes of the future’ in Exeter. The new postboxes have been put in place as the company continues to find ways to make collecting, sending and returning more convenient.

The new design allows customers to send and return labelled parcels – up to the size of a shoebox – through a postbox for the first time. Customers can also request proof of posting, and track their parcel, using the Royal Mail app.

This is also available for smaller parcels at any of the UK’s 115,000 postboxes. The reimagining of the iconic red postbox is the biggest redesign in its 175-year history.

The modern makeover includes a barcode scanner which opens a drop-down drawer to place parcels that are larger than those that fit through the traditional postbox slot, a solar panel, positioned due south for optimal sunlight, to power the scanner and drawer and a separate slot for letters.

The postboxes of the future were piloted in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire in April and they are now rolling out across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first in Exeter are now up and running at Kennaway Road, Sentry Corner, Northam Post Office, Appledore Post Office, Thorverton Post Office and Silverton Post Office.

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. Our message is clear, if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”

The rollout is part of Royal Mail’s multi-channel strategy to give customers the widest possible choice in how they collect, return and send parcels. On top of home delivery, Royal Mail has the largest network of out of home parcel points across the UK, with almost 24,000 locations including 2,000 lockers, 7,500 Royal Mail Shop outlets, 11,500 Post Office branches, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,400 parcel postboxes.