Post Office trials 150 new drop-off points for home shopping customers

The Post Office is hitting back at the rise of Collect+ with the announcement that it is to trial over 150 new drop-off points for home shopping customers returning orders using its pre-paid services. The new sites, which will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, will be based in existing retail outlets

such as garages and convenience stores, most of which are often open from early till late and seven days a week. These new locations will join Royal Mail’s network of 11,500 Post Office branches that already operate the service, to make it easier for customers to return orders placed during the peak period for home shopping in the run-up to Christmas.

Martin George, chief commercial officer at the Post Office, said: “Around one in ten online orders are returned so retailers need to ensure they provide a convenient, easy and reliable returns network. It’s a growing market and one in which the Post Office, through its unrivalled reach, is the market leader.

“We know people want the flexibility to choose where and when they return home shopping orders. We have the UK’s largest and most trusted returns network. Through trialling these new drop off points we want to make it easier for even more people to access our network by giving greater choice when retuning items.”

Post Office to trial additional 150 drop-off points

The Post Office is currently undergoing a modernisation programme and the additional services for home shopping returns is just one of its many new initiatives, and it is important that it gets it right as the UK’s home shopping marketing is continuing to grow with the value of the e-commerce market expected to increase from 91 billion pounds in 2013 to 107 billion pounds in 2014.

It should be helped by the fact that almost 71 percent of online shoppers reportedly said that Post Office branches were their preferred return point, helped by the fact it has the largest posting, collection and returns network in the UK.

Nick Landon, managing director of Royal Mail Parcels, added: “Post Office’s trial supports Royal Mail’s drive to be customer responsive and provide more options for our parcel customers, including online shoppers.

“Online shoppers want as easy a returns experience as possible and Post Office’s trial provides even greater flexibility for customers to access Royal Mail’s Pre-paid Returns service made available by many online retailers.”

The additional drop-off points follows the Royal Mail’s announcement last month to trial Sunday opening of nearly 2,000 Post Office branches and to make deliveries to addresses within the M25 motorway.