British consumers are willing to sacrifice the Universal Service – including daily postal deliveries and the two tier first and second class services – so long as Royal Mail’s future remains secure.
That is according to new research from national consumer watchdog Consumer Focus, which looked at how Royal Mail’s postal services should meet the needs of consumers in the digital age.
It also echoes the views of many business customers, who believe they are paying over the odds to keep the Universal Service going. Back in 2010, when the privatisation of Royal Mail was being discussed at committee stage, Mail Users Association chairman Alan Halfacre urged the Coalition to have the courage to tackle the Universal Service, and claimed: “You are delaying the inevitable.”
Despite the political backlash such a move would unleash, the report – entitled Sense and Sustainability – suggested changing consumer habits mean the public is starting to use the post in a different way, with more of a focus on receiving parcels than sending letters.
Consumers want more convenient delivery options for parcels, but would be willing to accept a three or four day per week delivery frequency, with a two-day rather than next-day delivery time.
With the increasing importance of ecommerce and home delivery, consumers would also want to see more parcel delivery options made available, including an extension of parcel pick-up points and extended opening hours.
Commenting on the report, Consumer Focus director of postal policy Robert Hammond said consumers were saying the post will still have a role in their lives in five years’ time, but that its role would change and as a result a “difficult debate” now lay ahead, potentially involving legislation change.
“There is a growing tension between the substance of the Universal Service and its sustainability,” he said. “Consumers should not be obliged to pay a premium for a ‘gold-plated’ service. But that means policymakers will need to think long and hard about how to ensure that technological advance and changing markets deliver good value and service to consumers, particularly the most vulnerable.”
Consumer Focus said consumers actually see “little meaningful difference” in service quality between first and second class services, and would be prepared to see the distinctions between the services removed.
The finding has been echoed by certain local authority customers of Royal Mail recently, some of whom have largely abandoned use of first class in favour of second following April’s rate increase.
Most respondents recognise the need for Royal Mail to become more streamlined and flexible to survive mail volume declines.
“They fear the unravelling of postal services and disappearance of less profitable doorstep deliveries, especially in rural areas, if Royal Mail no longer existed,” said the report, which said there was support for the Universal Service to be provided by alternative couriers only if regulators ensured doorstep deliveries were not lost.
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