After a successful pilot in April of this year, the Royal Mail is now rolling out its new solar-powered postboxes nationwide.
The biggest change to the iconic red postbox in 175 years sees the introduction of a large solar panel and a drop-down drawer for large parcels, with 3,500 of what Royal Mail describes as its “postboxes of the future” to be introduced across England, Scotland, Wales and Norther Ireland over the coming months.
Jack Clarkson, managing director of out of home and commercial excellence, Royal Mail, said, “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before. This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces.
“There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK. Our message is clear, if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”
The new-look design enables customers to send and return labelled parcels up to the size of a shoebox – something the previous design with only a narrow letter-sized slot could not provide – via a barcode scanner that opens a drop-down drawer. The south-facing solar-panel powers the scanner and drawer. Customers can also request proof of posting and track their parcel using the Royal Mail app.
In related news, Shopify retailers are now able to select parcel delivery via Royal Mail thanks to a new agreement between the e-commerce specialist and UK post. Read the full story