Royal Mail has launched a 'click and collect' service aimed at its small business customers, in order to capitalise on the ecommerce-led increase in parcel deliveries.

SME customers can now collect parcels from 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK. Online shopping has caused a big increase in parcel deliveries with several organisations such as supermarkets, Amazon and John Lewis already offering a click and collect service.

Paul Brown, head of commercial development at the Post Office, said: “The Post Office offers the largest and most convenient network for posting, collecting and returning parcels, and we’re changing to make it easier for customers to access our services.

“Thousands of our branches are now able to offer collection services on Sundays and from early morning until late at night, offering an extra 150,000 opening hours to customers using the Local Collect service. We’re delighted that even more SMEs can now take advantage of this service.”

Royal Mail’s parcel business now accounts for more than half of its annual revenue, which has helped to offset the decline in letter deliveries.