Royal Mail has won a three-year contract with UK’s nationwide specialist bookseller Waterstones to handle deliveries of online orders placed via its website Waterstones.com in the UK and to its international customer base.
Under the agreement, Royal Mail will deliver the online purchases from Waterstones.com through its Tracked 24, Tracked 48 services and international services across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.
The postal operator said it was selected by Waterstones for its service quality and capacity as well as its ability to handle significant volume increases during peak periods, in time for the busy pre-Christmas season. Royal Mail handled 176 million parcels in December last year alone.
Royal Mail’s specialist IT solutions provider NetDespatch worked closely with Waterstones to provide a streamlined IT systems integration and labelling solution for all orders.
Nick Landon, Managing Director Royal Mail Parcels, said: “We are pleased to have secured this new contract. Waterstones is a much-loved British brand, much like Royal Mail. We are proud to be supporting Waterstones in realising its ambition to be a knowledgeable national bookseller with a uniquely local approach.”
Through Waterstones.com, customers have access to the entire catalogue of books, audio books, as well as a wide range of stationery and gifts.
Erwyn Rentzenbrink, Head of Stock Operations, said: “Waterstones are delighted to join forces with Royal Mail. From today all orders from Waterstones.com will be delivered by Royal Mail in the UK and internationally. We believe Royal Mail are a perfect fit for us, offering a reliable, professional and efficient service putting our customers first.”
Meanwhile, physical books are gaining in popularity, with book sales rising 3% in the UK during the first half of 2015 compared to the same period last year. This is the first increase since 2012, with digital books sales rising 2%.
According to Royal Mail’s research, it is the UK’s most trusted delivery provider for online shoppers. The research indicates that satisfaction with its services among business customers has increased year-on-year since 2011. For 2014-15, the score across large and medium sized businesses, SMEs and micro-SMEs is 76, up from 75 last year, 74 in 2012-13 and 70 in 2011-12.
