THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX:
New design to fit parcels
ROYAL Mail is building postboxes which are big enough to fit parcels.
The new designs have larger openings and are being installed alongside traditional pillar boxes.
Bosses say the scheme will help small businesses and online sellers keen to avoid queues at post offices. A Royal Mail Parcels spokesman said it was “one of the many ways we are looking to make the lives of customers easier, giving them more options that suit how they want to do business”.
He added: “The trial is aimed at giving more flexibility to online sellers who might be running a business in their spare time and not keeping regular office hours.”
The new drop boxes were launched this week at 30 locations in Leicester and North- ampton. The move also means online shoppers will be able to drop off returns to retailers.
Around one in four items ordered over the internet are sent back.
Stores have been working closely with delivery firms and high street clickand-collect services to streamline the process.
Andy Mulcahy, from IMRG, the UK’s online retail association, said the scheme would be welcomed by shoppers, but added: “There is still work to do there.”
The trial will be reviewed in November and could then be extended nationwide.
The Royal Mail’s iconic postboxes have been the same design since they were launched in 1852.