Royal Mail has confirmed that from Sunday, October 25, parcels delivered to Post Office branches or Royal Mail Parcelshops will be held for collection for just 10 days, down from the current 18-day window. The change, initially planned for October 18, has been pushed back and will now take effect this weekend.
What the 10-Day Hold Means for Customers
The reduced hold time applies to items selected for delivery to a Post Office or Parcelshop at the checkout, as well as parcels redirected there after an unsuccessful delivery attempt at home. However, items held at a Customer Service Point, including Post Office branches operating as such, will continue to be held for the full 18 days.
A Royal Mail Parcelshop, also known as a Royal Mail Shop or designated drop-off location, can be a local corner shop, a regular Post Office branch, or a parcel locker. Royal Mail operates over 24,000 drop-off and collection locations across the UK, including rebranded Collect+ sites, parcel lockers, customer service points, and parcel postboxes.
Wider Postal Reforms and Delivery Targets
The parcel collection update is part of a broader modernisation of the UK's postal service. Standard second-class letters will now be delivered on alternate days only, while standard bulk business letters, which include household bills and bank statements, will shift to a three-day delivery target. First-class deliveries will remain a six-day-a-week service, from Monday to Saturday.
Royal Mail expects the new delivery schedules to be fully rolled out across all 1,200 of its delivery units by the end of the year. The firm has also adjusted its performance targets: 90% of first-class letters are now expected to be delivered the following day, down from 93%, and 95% of second-class mail within three days, down from 98.5%.
