Partner Article

It’s time to adapt to the 21st century consumer

Royal Mail’s recent trading figures show good news for the company with their parcel revenues growing, albeit driven by a price rise.

However, there is another point not to be missed from this news. Parcel volumes have stayed flat, yet predictors across the industry prior to Christmas 2013 were touting major increases in online purchases, some by as much as 20%, naturally creating an equal rise in parcel deliveries. And these were not far off, as the BRC reported a 19.2 percent increase in early January. So who has snapped up this share of parcel volume, if Royal Mail has not?

It is those logistics companies that have been busily adapting their services to the 21st century retail model that have won this battle. Next-day delivery, click-&-collect, locker pick-up points, like ByBox offers; these are shifts that have won over consumers and driven growth outside of Royal Mail’s control of the UK delivery market.

Retailers’ seasonal trading results clearly demonstrated that online was the king this festive period and those retailers without a strong online offering missed out hugely. The renaissance we’re seeing in delivery methods has led to internet shoppers investing increased faith in seeing their package delivered, which is completely shifting the way consumers interact with online retail.

This boost in trust stems from an overhaul and sea-change in postal systems offered by forward-thinking logistics companies. Almost 1 in 5 multichannel sales are now click-&-collect - so instead of having to wait at home for a delivery or queuing up at the nearest Royal Mail depot for undelivered mail, consumers are choosing to have their packages delivered to a local retail locker or outlet, so they can pick them up whenever is suitable to them.

This is the future of delivery – collecting packages from the most convenient location, whether it’s from a station, local high street or supermarket, any time of the day or night. The modern consumer demands convenience and control and is no longer willing to deal with the out-dated delivery systems that they’ve been forced to encounter in the past.

If Royal Mail wants to remain competitive and hit its targets for the future, it must adapt to changing consumer expectation quickly – its competitors already have.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Stuart Miller .