Online shopping to drive Royal Mail parcel volumes higher than pre-Covid

Royal Mail has seen early signs that domestic parcel volumes are re-basing at a higher level than pre-pandemic as consumers continue to be gripped by an online shopping frenzy.

Parcel volumes have swelled by more than a third in comparison with pre-Covid levels, in the three months to June 2021.

The logistics and express services group GLS – which owns Royal Mail – saw its total revenue lift by 36.6 per cent on levels seen in 2019.

While Royal Mail’s revenue alone grew by 13.4 per cent on figures posted before the pandemic.

“We are starting to see evidence that the domestic parcel market is re-basing to a higher level than pre-pandemic, as consumers continue to shop online,” GLS group chair Keith Williams said.

Parcel volumes took a tumble when the UK first went into lockdown and all non-essential retail was closed and people were required to stay at home – but have now started to steady at higher volumes.

“The future evolution of the pandemic, including levels of Covis transmission, consumer behaviour and economic factors such as GDP growth and inflation will impact on future performance,” the group said in a statement.

The post Online shopping frenzy to drive Royal Mail parcel volumes beyond pre-Covid levels appeared first on CityAM.