Royal Mail has announced plans to almost double its number of out-of-home parcel points – including shops, lockers and parcel postboxes – to 45,000 locations by 2030.

The company has rapidly expanded its multi-channel network over the past two years, launching parcel lockers and, more recently, its Royal Mail Shop brand to meet growing demand for out-of-home parcel drop-off and collection.

With the planned expansion, Royal Mail says customers in urban areas will be within a five-minute walk of a parcel point, with targets of five and 15-minutes maximum drive times for suburban and rural areas respectively.

Alistair Cochrane, Interim Chief Executive at Royal Mail, commented “Royal Mail is committed to being the UK’s most convenient delivery company. This ambitious new target strengthens our leading position, with the largest parcel point network in Britain, giving customers even more convenience and choice.”

To achieve its target the company is accelerating the rollout of parcel lockers in partnership with strategic site operators to secure prime, high-footfall locations. It is also expanding the Royal Mail Shop brand to nearly 8,000 stores nationwide.

Looking ahead, the business is exploring further innovations such as self-service kiosks, new retail partnerships, and a broader rollout of parcel dropboxes.

“For many, nothing beats the ease of home delivery or collection, but we’re seeing a clear shift towards more people choosing lockers and shops. Our strategy is to maximise our own network and work with partners to ensure we are always the nearest and simplest option for sending, collecting, and returning parcels,” Cochrane added.

Currently, Royal Mail says around 15% of parcels in the UK are delivered to out-of-home parcel points – a figure expected to rise to around one-third within five years. Locker usage is also on the rise, with 40% of UK adults having used one in the past year.