Royal Mail has announced NewRiver as the first company to support the rollout of its new parcel locker network across a portfolio of shopping centres and retail parks.
This partnership combines Royal Mail’s position as the UK’s largest parcel delivery company with NewRiver’s extensive retail footprint, enabling a rapid and large-scale expansion of this new service. The lockers will be installed at more than 60 shopping centres and retail parks operated by NewRiver within six months, with the first locations now live at Grays Shopping Centre in Grays, Thurrock, and Newlands Shopping Centre in Witham.
NewRiver’s portfolio includes around 80 UK retail destinations, spanning approximately 8.2 million sq. ft. The partnership covers both NewRiver-owned assets and properties managed on behalf of third-party owners through its capital partnership business, ensuring a broad reach for Royal Mail’s locker network.
The new parcel lockers provide a convenient service for shoppers, driving footfall and additional customer spending for retailers. Initially, they will support parcel drop-offs, including returns and sending parcels via Royal Mail’s fully tracked services. Prices start from £1.55 online for Second Class large letters or small parcels. A label-printing function at the lockers allows customers to pay for postage online and print a label by scanning a QR code. Collection services will also be introduced in the near future.
Anna Malley, Director of Out of Home at Royal Mail, commented:
“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, added:
“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.”
