Offering the
best of two brands
this festive season
Together we’ll help you take this Christmas to the next level!
Fill in your details and we’ll be in touch to chat about your festive needs.
Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide have combined to create the UK’s largest delivery network, so we’re all set to scale up like never before to meet your needs this Christmas. We can now help you send items of all sizes – through one account – providing you and your customers with more choice and convenience at the busiest time of the year.
We’ve joined up, now we’re scaling up To help you meet extra delivery and return demands this Christmas
Extra capacity
With 2 Super Hubs that can process over 1.5 million parcels a day, 5 Parcel Hubs and 4 Parcel Sort Centres.
Extra elves
80,000 posties, 6,000 Parcelforce drivers, 20,000 seasonal workers and 1,300 customer service advisors are here to support!
Extra wheels
We’re growing our fleet of 48,200 vehicles (including 7,000 electric vehicles) with an additional 6,800 hire vans to support this year’s peak.
Extra equipment
More yorks, bags, trays and PDAs to help move your festive items faster.
Delivering more choice with
Royal Mail and Parcelforce together
Next day, every day
up to Christmas Eve!
You can now access our full range of express, guaranteed and great value tracked festive deliveries through one account.
Thousands of out of home
collect and return points
Consumers enjoy having more control over deliveries and returns. We’ve got over 130,000 locations nationwide to return from… and it’s still growing!
One network for little
and large festive treats!
Send big and small parcels and letters through one network. We can also accommodate super-large items up to 2.5m long… like Christmas trees!
Cross-border prezzies?
We’ve got it covered
Last minute gift? Try express delivery from next day or tracked e-commerce delivery with Inflight options to keep tabs on items.
The UK’s greenest carrier*
this Christmas
We have the lowest carbon footprint per parcel of any major UK delivery company.* And the largest electric delivery fleet, with 7,000 electric vehicles!
* Based on average gCO2e emissions per parcel delivered by UK parcel operators, as published by Citizens Advice 2024 Parcels League Table.
Take a note of our last posting dates
Royal Mail services
Parcelforce services
Our partners across the world experience higher volumes of parcels throughout December. As we approach the busiest time of the year, we recommend that you post your international items as early as possible to avoid disappointment and to ensure your items arrive on time. To help ensure timely delivery, we recommend posting in advance of our delivery aims to all destinations.
Their reliability, speed and support are second to none. We truly see them as an extension of our team during Christmas.
Olivia Harrington, Design & E‑Commerce Manager, Two Bare Feet
Ideal for those last minute gifts
Our next day options include Inflight delivery options, end to end tracking, customer notifications, a photo on delivery, generous size and weight limits and the option of an Age and ID verification add on.
We began using the next day service a year ago. It’s helped to give us a competitive advantage and our customers have responded very positively to the service.
Will Manders, Head of Ecommerce, Whistlefish
Great value tracked
With a next day delivery aim 7 days a week and a Stop and Return function if the item is no longer required during transit.
Guaranteed delivery by a certain time
For urgent or valuable items, our range of timed next day options - including simply by the end of the following day - includes a money back guarantee and a signature and photo on delivery.
Express timed delivery
Our range of timed next day options for those urgent or valuable items includes a money back guarantee and a signature and photo on delivery for extra peace of mind.
Large prezzies, no problem!
We have services and a specialised network that is designed to carry those larger festive items. These services include Inflight delivery options, end to end tracking, customer notifications and a photo on delivery.
For larger items, Parcelforce provides the capacity, flexibility and care we need every time.
Sam Gompel, Owner/Director, Gompels Healthcare
Express large delivery
Our timed and guaranteed next day services will allow you to ship larger and weightier items up to 2.5m long (500 litres in size) and weighing up to 30kg.
Great festive value
Our two-day services include Inflight delivery options, end to end tracking, customer notifications, a photo on delivery, generous size and weight limits and optional Age and ID verification.
We’re able to offer customers the convenience and peace of mind they expect with Royal Mail Tracked 48® as our standard service.
Ben Boon, Co-founder, Pom Pom London
Flexible solutions
Choose between two-day delivery or a great value tracked service with a two-day delivery aim.
When it’s not quite right…
With over 130,000 convenient drop-off and return locations across the UK - including 8,000 Royal Mail Shop outlets, 2,000 Parcel Lockers, 1,200 Customer Service Points, 11,500 Post Office branches, 1,400 Parcel Drop-boxes, and 115,000 Postboxes - plus the option of doorstep collection with Parcel Collect, returning items with us this festive season is simple and hassle-free.
We’re excited to expand our partnership with Royal Mail and give Vinted members full access to their UK-wide parcel pick-up and drop-off network this Christmas.
Vytautas Atkočaitis, Vice President, Vinted Go
Flexibility over returns
There are over 2,000 Parcel Lockers and almost 8,000 Royal Mail Shop outlets for customers to drop items at, with more being added all the time. Your shoppers can also returns at 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points, 1,400 Parcel Drop boxes, over 115,000 Postboxes and 11,500 Post Office branches.
Convenient collection
Your customers can pick up items from our Parcel Lockers and Royal Mail Shop outlets too, meaning more control over their deliveries!
Doorstep collection
If your customers don’t want to leave the house (especially when it’s chilly!), our posties can pick up returns from their doorstep with Parcel Collect. We’ll even bring the label so you don’t have to send one with every order!
Delivering global reach this festive season
Offer international shoppers faster delivery aims, notifications in local languages,1 compensation and generous size and weight limits up to 30kg with our wide range of global services.2
We rely on your international service to ensure our products reach our global audience quickly, helping to build loyalty.
Aaron Stott, Managing Director, P Louise
To Europe
Delivery to Europe from 2 working days. Benefit from end-to-end tracking and Inflight delivery options.2 Plus flexible delivery terms like Postal Delivered Duties Paid (PDDP) and Delivered Taxes Paid (DTP), where customers can account for duties and taxes upfront. Customers can also use VAT management schemes such as the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) all of which help shipments move faster, and customers avoid unexpected fees.3
Rest of world
Reach over 240 countries and territories worldwide with our fully tracked services, delivery from 3 working days for major destinations worldwide. You can also send large parcels up to 1.5m in length, 3m length and girth combined and 30kg.
Need it fast?
For your most urgent items this Christmas, benefit from guaranteed international delivery from 2 working days.
1Available in 16 languages.
2Available on selected services.
3There are certain items we restrict through our network.
Please check our list of Prohibited and Restricted items to comply with International regulations. Country weight restrictions may also apply, please check our country pages for more detail.
For medium sized parcels, items must be max 61cm x 46cm x 46cm.
A greener Christmas
Choose the greenest delivery carrier this Christmas.* Our posties walk up to a billion steps every day, covering over half of our delivery routes, and helping to give us the lowest carbon footprint per parcel of any major UK delivery company.*
We want partners who have sustainability at their core. We enjoy working with you because you understand the importance of reducing carbon.
Edward Bulmer, Owner, Edward Bulmer Natural Paints
Largest electric fleet
We operate the UK’s largest fleet of electric delivery vans, with around 7,000 deployed to date. We have also started using millions of litres of low-emission biofuels in our larger trucks instead of diesel.
Steps to Net-Zero
Royal Mail and Parcelforce aim to be Net-Zero by 2040 and are aiming to be 100% Zero Emissions in the final mile by 2035.
*Based on average gCO2e emissions per parcel delivered by UK parcel operators, as published by Citizens Advice 2024 Parcels League Table.
See revenue soar with mail this Christmas
Tesco, Sky, Specsavers - they all use mail. Why? Because it works. 97% of mail is engaged with, 11% prompts a website visit, and a whopping 6% results in a purchase. Mail holds attention for 145 seconds.*
Mail, especially when digitally activated, holds a valuable position alongside digital marketing for customer acquisition.
Precision Marketing
Hybrid Mail
Save time and money with a digital solution that allows your team to upload mail directly to your servers from home. We’ll take it from there to process, print and deliver your mail to the door.
Partially Addressed Mail
Location-specific targeting to reach small groups of carefully selected households. No personal data required as we’ll deliver to homes rather than individuals.
Door to Door
Precise targeting by location or demographic, to around 32 million addresses. No personal data needed: we’ll deliver leaflets, flyers and brochures directly to households nationwide.
Addressed Advertising Mail
Strengthen relationships with current customers, to prompt them online or in-store. Grow your business with precision targeting to expand your brand reach.
*JICMAIL Q1 2025.
Royal Mail and the cruciform are registered trade marks of Royal Mail Group Limited. Royal Mail Group Limited, registered in England and Wales, number 4138203, registered office: 185 Farringdon Road, London, EC1A 1AA.
© Royal Mail Group Limited 2025. All rights reserved.