Royal Mail has reported a significant decline in its delivery performance, with less than three quarters of first class mail reaching its destination on time, as the company prepares for a major overhaul of its letter delivery services.
Performance Figures Show Steady Decline
The delivery giant disclosed that only 73.4% of first class post was delivered the next working day during the period between June 20 and September 28. Meanwhile, the performance for second class mail stood at 90.4% delivered within three working days.
This represents a continued deterioration since the company's annual results, coming after Royal Mail was hit with a substantial £21 million fine from regulator Ofcom for missing its mail delivery targets during the 2024-25 financial year.
Missed Targets and Regulatory Action
During the previous financial year, Royal Mail managed to deliver 77% of first class mail and 92.5% of second class mail on time. However, this fell significantly short of its regulatory targets of 93% for first class and 98.5% for second class mail.
The company stated it is taking decisive action to improve service reliability, including hiring more staff and providing additional support to delivery offices across the network.
Major Service Changes Ahead
Royal Mail is preparing to introduce sweeping changes to its delivery model, which will see second class deliveries scrapped on Saturdays and switched to an every-other-weekday service.
The company has been running pilots for this new delivery approach and aims to continue rolling it out from early next year.
Royal Mail's chief operating officer Jamie Stephenson commented: "Reliable deliveries really matter to our customers, and they matter to us too. We're taking targeted action to improve performance – recruiting more frontline staff, simplifying operations and investing in a new delivery model, with early pilots already showing measurable results."
He added that the Royal Mail team was "working hard to make sure every item arrives on time and with care."
In preparation for the busy festive season, Royal Mail is taking on approximately 20,000 extra workers to assist with transporting, sorting and delivering mail during the peak Christmas period.
