Royal Mail customers will be able to use parcel lockers for the first time next month.

The lockers will initially allow customers to drop off returns and pre-paid parcels before expanding to offer customer collections too.

The new service comes as part of a new partnership between Royal Mail and global parcel locker operator Quadient to make sending and receiving parcels “as convenient as possible” by offering more choices to customers.

The first lockers will open in Coventry in April before being rolled out nationwide – with 1,500 expected by the end of the year and further plans for 3,000 across the UK.

The partnership with Quadient adds to the recent announcement that Royal Mail customers will be able to use up to 5,000 Collect+ stores to drop off and collect parcels.

This will increase the number of locations where customers can drop parcels to more than 21,000, including 3,000 lockers, 11,500 Post Office branches, 5,000 Collect+ stores, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,200 parcel postboxes.

There is increasing demand from customers for convenient ways to drop off parcels, with around 50 percent of all Royal Mail non-account sales now online.

According to the IMRG Home Delivery Review, locations such as convenience stores and lockers have become amongst the most common places people choose to have parcels delivered outside their homes.

Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive, said: “Our expansion into lockers with 24/7 access will give our customers even greater choice of more than 21,000 locations to drop off parcels.

“We want to make it as convenient as possible for customers to send and return parcels, fitting it in around their daily routines with a range of options for different lifestyles.

“We are continually finding new ways to improve our services, including more online postage options through our website and app, 24/7 drop off at locations like our parcel postboxes, use of Collect+ stores and Post Offices, and collection from home through Royal Mail Parcel Collect.”

Geoffrey Godet, chief executive officer of Quadient, said: “We are honoured by Royal Mail’s trust in our solution, including our award-winning drop box locker, and our business model.

“We take pride in seeing how quickly our open locker network has grown since we first announced it in the summer of 2022.

“The strategic partnerships in place are a testament to the success of our agnostic approach, addressing the needs of UK carriers and consumers as we serve one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world.”

He added: “Now partnering with the market leader for parcel delivery, we are more confident than ever that customer adoption and usage of our lockers will continue to accelerate, as more locations are installed, and more services are enabled.”