Mail order shoppers get new option

Consignia says the service will suit some customers' lifestyles

Shoppers will be soon able to use their nearest post office as a delivery address for mail order purchases.

The Post Office - recently renamed Consignia - will offer consumers the option to collect their ordered items from their selected post office as long as their chosen retailer has signed up to the scheme.

Retailers will not be charged extra for the service so delivery costs should not rise, said Consignia.

Home shoppers will have the choice of using a post office as their direct delivery address or as an alternative address if they are not at home.

New dimension

The vast majority of the 18,000 post offices will be offering the service.

David Taylor, Consignia's managing director, said: "Consignia has already developed new services to help ensure people who shop from home have a greater choice of the way their goods are delivered.

"But this service, named Local Collect, really does add a new dimension and will attract many more people to shop from home, particularly those who feel that the delivery options developed so far still do not fully suit their lifestyles."