Mailers in the night

The Royal Mail has teamed up with several retailers to trial an evening delivery service. The trial will initially last for six months and will be provided for those living within the M25 area of London and the South East. Evening deliveries will operate between 6pm and 10pm, allowing customers to collect their packages after work. Currently, only House of Fraser and L’Occitane are participating, but the Royal Mail has stated that it is in talks with other potential retail partners.

The trial is a response to a recent eBay survey that revealed that over 84% of online companies that rely on the Royal Mail for their deliveries criticised the service. Online businesses commonly described how the Royal Mail failed to meet their demands and that of their customers. The five most repeated areas for improvement were: notifications for the time or day of delivery; evening deliveries; evening collection times at postal depots; weekend deliveries and evening opening times at post offices.

Royal Mail director Mike Brown said: “Consumers increasingly want more control over when and where they receive their orders, and Royal Mail is looking to fit the online delivery experience around the shopper, enabling them to select, rather than being told, when their goods will be delivered.”

The findings come at a time when the future of the Royal Mail is in question. Vince Cable has already stated his desire for modernisation, even if it means selling part of the public institution to a private company.