Royal Mail has lost another sizeable deal, with the Post Office choosing instead to go with French company DPD to set up an online parcel delivery service.
Through the service, customers will be able to select and pay for online parcels that can be dropped off at a Post Office branch.
Customers can print labels at home or else take them to a local post office branch to be printed.
DPD has been steadily building its presence in the UK through links with retailers such as Asos, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer and is taking advantage of the chaos last Christmas caused by extended industrial action by Royal Mail staff.
The contract extends a relationship between DPD and the Post Office that started in 2021 with a click and collect service.
Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, told the Telegraph: “Nobody likes waiting for hours in a long queue to post a parcel.
“Currently unless you pay for a tracked delivery, it can be difficult to retrieve your parcel if something goes wrong with Royal Mail. A new parcel service will hopefully be a better way for customers to keep track of their parcels after they’ve posted them.”
Post Office deputy chief executive Owen Woodley said: “We regard Parcels Online as being crucial to securing long-term sustainable growth for our Postmasters through a multi-carrier and multi-channel Post Office.”
Initially, 3,600 Post Office branches will offer the online DPD service, increasing to 4,000 next month.
Shares in Royal Mail-owner International Distribution Services edged up 0.8% to 245p.