1. Royal Mail is trialling parcel postboxes that mean small businesses and marketplace sellers can  post pre-paid* parcels through postboxes in the same way that they currently post letters
2. This is the first time parcel postboxes have been trialled in the UK. The trial of 30 parcel postboxes is taking place in Northampton and Leicester and will last until 5th November
3. The trial boxes are based on existing Royal Mail meter mail drop boxes. They have  a wider aperture and secure design for deposits, making the posting of larger prepaid items both safe and convenient
4. It marks the first potential major change in use for the UK humble postbox in the last 160 years. The first ever UK postboxes were trialled in Jersey in 1852. They were subsequently rolled out across the UK in 1853 by Anthony Trollope, the novelist and senior GPO executive

This is the first time parcel postboxes have been trialled in the UK. The trial will last until November 5 2018. Parcel postboxes represent the first potential major change of use for the humble postbox in its last 160 years of existence.

For the proof of concept trial, we are repurposing some existing meter mail drop boxes. With a wider aperture and secure design for mailing larger items, the parcel postboxes make the posting of larger prepaid parcels both safe and convenient.

For the trial, 17 parcel postboxes will be sited in Northampton and 13 in Leicester. At the end of the trial, Royal Mail will review consumer feedback and usage of the parcel postboxes. A decision will then be made whether or not to introduce some parcel postboxes in various locations across the UK.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail Parcels, said “The trial of parcel postboxes is one of the many ways we at Royal Mail are looking to make the lives of customers easier, giving them more options that suit how they want to do business. The trial is aimed at giving more flexibility to online sellers who might be running a business in their spare time and not keeping regular office hours.”

Source: Royal Mail Group