Royal Mail has announced another increase in stamp prices, effective from April 2, 2024. This marks the fourth price hike in two years for first-class letter postage.
- First-class stamp prices will rise by 10p to £1.35.
- Second-class stamp prices will increase by 10p to 85p.
- This price change follows warnings from Royal Mail about the impact of higher costs and lower demand for letter services.
Royal Mail, which reported a loss of £419m last year, cites several factors for the price increase:
- Letter volumes have decreased dramatically in recent years, while costs have increased.
- The company now delivers only 7 billion letters, down from a previous 20 billion.
- Postal workers now walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters, increasing delivery costs per letter.
The company states that adults typically spend less than £7 a year on stamped letters, with people now receiving an average of two letters per week. Royal Mail maintains that UK stamp prices remain below European averages.
This price increase occurs amid discussions about potential reforms to the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to all 32 million UK addresses six days a week. The communications regulator, Ofcom, has suggested that the postal service is “getting out of date” and that action needs to be taken.
Possible reforms under consideration include reducing letter delivery days from six to five or even three per week, which could result in significant cost savings for Royal Mail. However, the government has stated its commitment to maintaining a six-day service.