Delivering postal users' needs in a digital age Add to Your Pages
26 November 2020
Royal Mail needs to become more efficient and modernise its parcel network
New Ofcom research shines a light on changing attitudes to postal services
Reducing letter deliveries to five days a week would still meet the needs of nearly all people and businesses
But changing delivery requirements alone would not sustain the universal service in the long term
Ofcom is calling on Royal Mail to modernise its network and become more efficient, in order to sustain the universal service and keep pace with postal users' changing needs.
The postal market has changed dramatically in recent years. The number of letters people send and receive has fallen by around 5% each year since 2015, as people increasingly rely on email and other online communications.
Growth in online shopping has seen overall parcel volumes increase at a rate of around 10% per year since 2015. And these trends seem to have accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic, with Royal Mail reporting a 31% increase in its UK parcel volumes between April and September this year.
While the pandemic has made 2020 a particularly challenging year for Royal Mail, the issues facing the company due to the changing market and consumer behaviour were apparent before the pandemic started to have an impact.
Parcel delivery: Royal Mail must modernise and become more efficientOfcom's annual monitoring report on the postal market sets out data and trends within the postal sector, and examines Royal Mail's performance. In 2019/20, 2.8 billion parcels were sent and received in the UK one billion more than in 2013 in a market now worth over £10bn in revenues.
Our analysis of Royal Mail's efficiency shows that costs in the part of the business responsible for the universal service increased last year. The company failed to make efficiency gains or meet the targets it set itself for improving productivity.
Unless Royal Mail can modernise its network to adapt to parcel customers' changing needs, and operate more efficiently, the sustainability of the universal service could be at risk in the longer term.
Letter delivery: does the universal service reflect users' needs?Under legislation, the universal postal service requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week (Monday to Saturday) and parcels five days a week (Monday to Friday) to every address in the UK, at a uniform price.
With the market continuing to change rapidly, Ofcom has carried out a comprehensive review of the needs of postal users across the UK, to see if the delivery requirements Royal Mail has to meet still reflect what people and businesses need today.[1]
We have asked people and businesses how they feel about a range of hypothetical changes to the universal service, to find out what would meet their needs. Any changes to the universal service's minimum requirements could only be made by Government and Parliament, but the findings give an insight into how people's attitudes to postal services have evolved.[2]
Our research found that the current six-day-a-week letter delivery requirement meets the needs of 98% of residential users and 97% of small and medium businesses (SMEs) in the UK. Reducing this to five days a week, but leaving all other elements of the service unchanged, would still meet the needs of 97% of residential and SME users.[3]
This suggests that reducing the letter deliveries requirement to five days a week would reflect postal users' reasonable needs. It would potentially allow Royal Mail to make net cost savings of around £125-225m per year.
However, Royal Mail continues to face significant financial challenges and this saving alone would not be sufficient in itself to ensure the longer-term sustainability of the universal service.
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's Networks and Communications Group Director, said: Our research suggests that people's needs would still be met if letter deliveries were reduced from six days a week to five.
It would ultimately be for Parliament to decide whether this change is needed. However, Royal Mail must still modernise and become more efficient, to keep pace with customers' changing needs.
Next stepsWe have researched whether the minimum requirements of the universal service reflect the reasonable needs of postal users. It would be for the UK Government to determine whether any changes are needed to these minimum requirements and to bring any proposals before Parliament.
Separately, we are reviewing the future regulatory framework for post. This will consider issues affecting the broader postal sector, as people's reliance on parcels continues to grow. For example, we will look at continuing the requirements for Royal Mail to provide wholesale access to its network, and whether extra consumer protections are required in the parcels market. We will consult on these issues next year and conclude this review in 2022.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Nationally representative samples of 4,596 UK adults and 971 businesses were surveyed at the end of 2019. This was supplemented by discussion groups across the UK. We subsequently surveyed 2,366 adults in summer 2020 to assess how far users' views may have changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our review has focused on the minimum requirements of the universal service, but we also asked for people's views on hypothetical changes to other features. We carried out our last review of postal users' needs in 2012/13.
The Postal Services Act 2011 sets out the minimum requirements of the universal postal service and the need for the provision of that service to be financially sustainable and efficient. Ofcom can specify other features of the universal service, such as requiring the choice of a first-class and second-class serv
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
02/10/2026
v1.9.3 introduces AUv3 support
Roland have just released an update that kits their free iPad-based software synth out with AUv3 support, meaning it can now ...
02/10/2026
Dolby Atmos support, AI-powered stem separation & more
The latest version of MOTU's DAW software is now available, and marks a major step forward with t...
02/10/2026
Portable DAC created in collaboration with Steve Levine
British hi-fi experts iFi audio have unveiled a new Master Tuned variant of their praised iDSD GR2 p...
02/10/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson looks at streaming piracy from a different lens, focusing on digital trust, consumer risk, and the future of subscriber protecti...
02/10/2026
Featuring performances recorded in Cork, Kilkenny, Wesmeath and Dublin culminati...
02/10/2026
Friday 2 October 2026
Crystal Lake, a Friday the 13th' prequel series, com...
02/10/2026
Friday 2 October 2026
Sky VIP helps families celebrate the Christmas season wit...
02/10/2026
How the fertility sector in Ireland remains unregulated
Undercover filming reveals how without proper regulation the promotion of controversial fertility treat...
02/10/2026
Transforming Homes, Transforming Lives
Presenter Baz Ashmawy and his team take on four life-changing builds across Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow and Offaly in the...
01/10/2026
Third collaboration with celebrated composer
Spitfire Audio have once again teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer, producer and technologist BT, creating...
01/10/2026
FL Studio gets dedicated grid controller
Novation have teamed up with FL Studio developers Image-Line to create another dedicated controller for the popular...
01/10/2026
Six new USB interfaces introduced
Universal Audio's USB audio interface line-up has just been refreshed, gaining six new models aimed at musicians, prod...
01/10/2026
Siretta's SNYPER-5G cellular network analyser has been shortlisted for the IoT Global Awards 2026.
The IoT Global Awards recognise products, services and o...
01/10/2026
Mesh Broadcast Services Fits Big-Truck Audio Power into Compact Eclipse Unit with Calrec Argo M Canadian OB company Mesh Broadcast Services has fitted its Eclip...
01/10/2026
X-Rite Pantone Launches Spectura to Advance Connected Color Quality from Lab to ...
01/10/2026
Thursday 1 October 2026
Nominees revealed for 2026 Sky Arts Awards
Current slide, 0 0, undefined1
0
Irish National Opera and Jennifer Walshe: MARS
Jacob Al...
01/10/2026
Vital TV antenna replaced at SudburyHelicopter and broadcast engineers work together to upgrade TV services for 1.5M in the East
--
Share to Linkedin
Octobe...
01/10/2026
Arqiva appoints Simon Duffy as ChairSimon Duffy joins as Chair effective 01 October 2026
--
Share to Linkedin
October 1, 2026
Press Office
01 October 2026...
01/10/2026
Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...
01/10/2026
New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen
RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...
01/10/2026
RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...
30/09/2026
Add an envelope generator to any plug-in
Sync Audio's latest creation is a handy utility plug-in that can be used to combine and modulate other effects ...
30/09/2026
All-analogue tape-style drive joins Series A
Strymon's reputation was built on their digital knowhow, so many were surprised (and intrigued) when they a...
30/09/2026
Two new expansion packs released
Sonuscore have just introduced two new expansion packs for The Pulse, its production engine instrument for modern cinematic...
30/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/09/2026
New Solution Expands Harmonic's Network Intelligence Portfolio and Brings Comcast-Developed Fiber Monitoring Technology to Broadband Operators, Providing Re...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITO...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI
Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...
28/09/2026
New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup
Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...
28/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...
28/09/2026
Monday 28 September 2026
Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes
Sky has launched a new Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps product, rolling out from today, gi...
28/09/2026
Arvato Systems Highlights It's Role for Automotive Manufacturers and Suppliers
TISAX
Arvato Systems has successfully completed the TISAX Level 3 assess...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
27/09/2026
New compact pedal packs in 120 effects
The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...
26/09/2026
Launched alongside three new expansion packs
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...
25/09/2026
Algorithm update & new DVA vibrato-detection engine
A new flagship version of Antares' iconic pitch-correction software has arrived, and along with a co...
25/09/2026
New flagship unit to arrive in early 2027
Two notes Audio Engineering have revealed that a new and improved version of their hugely popular reactive load bo...
Delivering postal users' needs in a digital age Add to Your Pages 
