Matt Bullock
14 July 2010
The Royal Mail's decision to extend its operating hours could have a positive effect on ecommerce.
The change, which will allow people throughout the UK to pick up parcels outside of normal work hours, makes online shopping more convenient for consumers who would normally need to wait for a weekend to travel to the post office and pick up deliveries.
"More than half the UK adult population now shops online," said David Smith, managing director of IMRG.
More than 200 Royal Mail delivery offices have extended their opening hours to as late as 8 p.m. on weekdays and until 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and another 350 are expected to follow suit later this summer, according to the Daily Mail. Prior to the change, Royal Mail centres were usually open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays - difficult hours for those with a day job.
Now, if an online shopper buys something that requires a signature or is too big to fit in a letter box, he or she will be able to retrieve the item from the Royal Mail after work, without having to wait until Saturday to stand for hours in a long queue. The new hours are likely to encourage online shopping, reports the Daily Mail, as picking up deliveries during the more convenient hours may prove to be easier for many shoppers than traveling to a store.
"The majority of items ordered online are delivered first time," Mike Brown, fulfillment director of the Royal Mail, told the Daily Mail. "But this investment by Royal Mail will help people who are not at home during the day to receive their item."
The Internet Advertising Bureau reports that by 2011, 32 million UK adults will be shopping online, according to statistics from Forrester Research.
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