International Distribution Services, the parent company of Royal Mail, has acquired a 49% stake in Collect+, marking a significant milestone in Royal Mail’s strategy to make sending, collecting and returning parcels more convenient for consumers. The investment will see almost 8,000 Collect+ convenience stores rebranded as Royal Mail Shop locations.
The new Royal Mail Shop outlets will act as high street destinations for parcel services, allowing customers to collect, send and return parcels and, for the first time, purchase Royal Mail postage over the counter.
The service is already live in 500 stores and will be rolled out nationwide in the coming months, offering extended opening hours in the evenings and at weekends.
Royal Mail and Collect+ first partnered in May 2024 to meet rising demand for convenient parcel drop-off and collection points.
Since then, Royal Mail customers have been able to use nearly 8,000 Collect+ locations for pre-paid parcels and returns.
In September, Vinted became the first retail partner to offer parcel collection from these stores, with more partners expected to follow under the Royal Mail Shop brand.
The new high street shops form part of Royal Mail’s growing network of almost 24,000 parcel points, including 2,000 lockers, 11,500 Post Office branches, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,400 parcel postboxes, making it the UK’s largest multi-channel parcel network.
The company is also introducing new “postboxes of the future” to handle larger parcels and expanding the Royal Mail app’s proof-of-posting feature for easier use of postboxes.
Alistair Cochrane, interim chief executive of Royal Mail, said: “The launch of the Royal Mail Shop brand creates a new and improved high street destination for all of our customers’ parcel needs in one location.
“With postage available to buy in store, and opening hours including evening and weekends, the shops are giving customers greater flexibility in how they collect, send and return their parcels. This investment is one of the ways we’re making Royal Mail more convenient.
“We have the UK’s largest network of out-of-home parcel points — from lockers to solar-powered postboxes — and we’re focused on being the nearest and simplest choice for our customers.”
Nick Wiles, chief executive of PayPoint, said: “We are delighted that Royal Mail has invested into the Collect+ business, which has seen strong growth over the past five years as we have established it as the leading open out of home store network in the UK.
“The addition of Royal Mail over the counter services and Royal Mail Shop branding is an exciting development for our retailer network and is another example of how we deliver vital community services across the UK, including local banking, parcels and broader access to cash services.”
