Royal Mail has unveiled its “postbox of the future” that is solar-powered, has a built-in barcode reader and a large hatch that can accept parcels bigger than letterbox size.
In a historic change to the iconic red pillar box, Royal Mail said the new futuristic looking postbox “is to maximise choice and convenience for our customers” as the number of letters people send declines but parcels trade continues to boom.
Customers can scan their packages using the barcode scanner - powered using solar panels on the black lid that aim to store energy when there is no sun - and put it in the large draw that will open.
They can then use the Royal Mail app to request “proof of posting”, a new feature recently introduced so that people can post small, barcoded parcels in a postbox.
Five of the new postboxes are being piloted in Ware, Hertford and Fowlmere areas across Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, before Royal Mail intends to roll them out across UK.
Emma Gilthorpe, CEO at Royal Mail, said: “In making this historic change to our postboxes, our goal is to maximise choice and convenience for our customers. In an era where letter volumes continue to decline and parcels are booming, we are giving our iconic postboxes a new lease of life on street corners across the nation.
“You can now drop your parcel in any postbox where it fits - you just need a label with a barcode.”
Royal Mail hope the new postboxes will make it easier for people to send parcels using their services, as there are 115,000 postboxes in the UK, located within half a mile of 98 per cent of addresses. While the pillar boxes already accept parcels small enough to fit through a letterbox, thousands across the country could be adapted to accept larger parcels.
The parcel boom shows no sign of dying as more Britons continue to use parcel courier services to buy and sell online. Research from Virgin Media O2 Business and Depop in December found that 23.8 million Britons were turning to online secondhand selling platforms.
As the cost of living increased, second hand shopping became more important for a quarter of shoppers, with one in five increasing their use of second hand shopping apps in the final quarter of 2024.
As well as updating their postboxes, Royal Mail has more than 21,000 locations where customers can drop off and collect parcels, including 1,000 lockers, 7,000 Collect+ stores, 11,500 Post Office branches, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,200 parcel postboxes.
The new postbox pilot comes before Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services, is set to be sold to Czech energy billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group in a £3.57 billion deal.
