Royal Mail has begun trialling the UK’s first ever parcel postboxes in the East Midlands region of the UK, with 17 sites in Northampton and 13 in Leicester.
At the end of the trial in November, Royal Mail will review consumer feedback and usage of the parcel postboxes and will decide whether or not to introduce further sites across the UK.
Parcel postboxes enable small businesses and marketplace sellers to post pre-paid parcels through securely designed parcel postboxes, much the same as posting a letter.
For the proof of concept, Royal Mail repurposed existing meter mail drop boxes, with a wider aperture for mailing larger items. The parcel postboxes represent the first potential major change of use for the Royal Mail postbox since it was introduced more than 160 years ago.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail Parcels, said, “The trial of parcel postboxes is one of the many ways we at Royal Mail are looking to make the lives of customers easier, giving them more options that suit how they want to do business.
“The trial is aimed at giving more flexibility to online sellers who might be running a business in their spare time and not keeping regular office hours.”