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Royal Mail to cater to busy online shoppers

Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 14:40 by Graham Miller

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Many of us are time poor, turning to online shopping because we cannot find the time to go to the high street, but this often results in packages being retained at the local Royal Mail depot when no one is in to answer the door. To solve this issue, the Royal Mail has announced that it will extend the opening times of many of its depots.

Public access to over 200 depots and delivery centres will be pushed up to 8pm, which the Royal Mail hopes will make it easier for people who work during standard business hours to come and retrieve their undelivered online shopping.

Opening times for depots vary from region to region, but most open for three hours on a Saturday and between 9am and 6pm on weekdays, which for many means that it is difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve parcels.

The extension of the opening hours has already been put into place at many locations around the country, although it will not be a daily occurrence, with Wednesday currently designated as the day on which the later parcel pick up service will be available.

The Royal Mail will be able to support those who enjoy safe shopping online at a further 350 locations across the UK over the next couple of months, with the remaining 750 delivery centres sticking to the standard opening hours.

The Royal Mail's Mike Brown said that it manages to get most online shopping into the hands of consumers without requiring them to trek to the delivery office, but identified this new move as being a key effort in ensuring that online shoppers are not inconvenienced any more than is necessary.

Over half of all adults in the UK enjoy the benefits of safe shopping online, with high street outlets frequently shunned in favour of low cost online alternatives. This latest move should prove to be of significant benefit to UK consumers.