By Alex Nelson

Copyright thescarboroughnews

Around 8,000 Collect+ shops will be rebranded as Royal Mail ShopsCustomers will be able to buy Royal Mail postage in-store for the first timeShops will offer parcel send, collect and return services, with longer opening hoursSelf-service kiosks are planned from 2026 to speed up postageMove comes as Royal Mail shifts focus from letters to booming parcel demand

Sending a parcel could soon be as easy as popping to your corner shop, and paying at the counter, as Royal Mail prepares a major high street expansion.

Around 8,000 Collect+ convenience stores are set to rebrand as Royal Mail Shops, following a £43.9 million deal that saw Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), take a 49% stake in the parcel service.

For the first time, customers will be able to buy Royal Mail postage directly in-store, instead of having to pay online beforehand. That’s a big change for anyone who prefers face-to-face service or doesn’t have easy access to a printer.

What services will the new shops offer?

Send, collect and return parcels – not just with Royal Mail, but with other major carriers too.Longer opening hours, including evenings and weekends, making it easier to post outside 9–5.From 2026, some stores will introduce self-service kiosks, so you can weigh, pay and print labels yourself.

Around 500 outlets have already been rebranded, with thousands more set to follow over the coming months.

The wider Collect+ network covers more than 14,000 locations, including corner shops, supermarkets, petrol stations and newsagents, so many customers won’t have to travel far.

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Why is this happening?

Royal Mail is shifting focus from letters to parcels as demand for online shopping and returns keeps climbing.

At the same time, it’s planning to reduce traditional letter deliveries, including scrapping Saturday second-class post and moving to every-other-day deliveries for much of the week.

By investing in Collect+, IDS is betting big on the convenience parcel market, giving Royal Mail more visibility on the high street and making its services easier to access.

What it means for you

For most customers, this move should mean greater choice and convenience:

Easier access to postage without printing labels at home.More places to drop off or pick up parcels, closer to where you live.Longer hours than typical Post Offices, which could ease queues and delays.

Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail’s chief executive, called the launch “a new and improved high street destination for all of our customers’ parcel needs in one location”.

For shoppers, small businesses and online sellers, that could mean quicker trips, shorter queues, and a more modern postal service that fits around daily life.

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