Royal Mail has announced NewRiver as the first company it is partnering with to roll out its new parcel locker network across its portfolio of shopping centres and retail parks.
Royal Mail is the largest parcel delivery company in the UK and, combined with NewRiver’s expansive and geographically diverse portfolio, this new partnership means Royal Mail can roll out lockers at scale and speed.
Royal Mail announced the launch of its own parcel locker network in December as part of its rapid expansion of parcel points to meet growing demand.
The lockers will be available at more than 60 shopping centres and retail parks operated by NewRiver within six months. The first locations have launched at two shopping centres owned by NewRiver in Essex – Grays Shopping Centre in Grays, Thurrock and Newlands Shopping Centre in Witham.
NewRiver’s combined portfolio totals c.80 UK retail destinations across 8.2m sq ft and this partnership with Royal Mail includes both assets owned by NewRiver and assets it manages on behalf of third-party owners through its capital partnership business, allowing NewRiver to leverage its scale and market-leading platform.
The new Royal Mail lockers will provide a complementary service for shoppers as well as helping drive footfall and creating additional customer spend for retailers. They will initially offer a drop-off service for returning goods and the growing number of people sending parcels.
Label printing will also be available at the lockers, meaning customers simply need to pay for postage online and print the label by scanning a QR code at the locker. The lockers will also offer collection in the near future.
Anna Malley, director of out of home at Royal Mail, said: “Our customers are sending and receiving more and more parcels, and our mission is to make it as convenient as possible by giving them choices that suit them. NewRiver’s shopping centres and retail parks are exactly the kind of busy locations that many of our customers will already be visiting, making it easy for them to fit in dropping off their parcels whilst they are there. The lockers are simple to use with best-in-class technology that can print postage labels, which is really important for many people.”
Allan Lockhart, CEO of NewRiver, said: “This important partnership represents a market-first portfolio roll-out for us both, leveraging the scale and size of our expansive portfolio. The Royal Mail lockers are a great fit for our portfolio of UK wide retail assets which sit in the heart of their local communities providing a convenient service for our shoppers and creating additional footfall and customer spend at our assets, whilst supporting Royal Mail’s expansion of this new concept.
“We know from our portfolio data that omni-channel retail operators are leading the way, and providing this additional service for our shoppers ensures that our assets help fulfill the needs for both our shoppers and our retailers, providing complementary services and helping to support the growth of thriving communities.”
