Fast, easy, local
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of our revolutionary new parcel postboxes, we have identified Chelmsford as having one of the busiest parcel postboxes in the south of England
The box situated outside Chelmsford Mail Centre on Winsford Way is so popular that it is now emptied more than once a day to keep up with demand.
The box receives nearly 400 parcels a week. At its peak, the postbox was receiving around 75 parcels each day.
The popularity of the postbox is driven by a mix of local retailers and online marketplace sellers sending out orders to their customers and online shoppers returning items for refunds.
Small businesses and marketplace sellers have been able to use the boxes in the same way as they post a letter, providing additional levels of convenience. Local entrepreneurs simply need to go online to buy pre-paid postage from our Click & Drop labelling system before posting their parcels in the box.
During lockdown, our parcel post boxes have provided added flexibility to online sellers who might be running a business in their spare time and not keeping regular office hours. The 24/7 access has enabled many to post items during unsociable hours when other outlets may be closed.
Our parcel postboxes have also given online shoppers an easy way to return items bought during lockdown that were not quite what they wanted. We have seen a 25 per cent increase in returns traffic, in comparison with the same time last year as customers reflect on some of their lockdown purchases.
Many retailers extended return periods during lockdown, giving customers more time to make a decision on their purchases. The rise of the home fitting room has been given further momentum as many bricks and mortar stores continue to seal off their fitting rooms.
The first ever UK postboxes were trialled in Jersey in 1852. They were subsequently introduced across the UK in 1853 by Anthony Trollope, the novelist and senior General Post Office (GPO) executive. The new parcel postboxes have a wider aperture and are also red, which has remained the standard colour for boxes with a few exceptions.
Chief commercial officer, Nick Landon, said: ‘The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has driven major changes in consumer habits, including the way we shop.
‘Chelmsford is one example of how local businesses, marketplace sellers and online shoppers returning unwanted items are using our parcel postboxes to post parcels both simply and conveniently, through a fast and easy local drop off.’
