Mail-Back Monday busiest returns day

Royal Mail said it expected the first Monday of the New Year, or ‘Mail-Back Monday,’ to be the busiest day for online Christmas present post returns.

It predicted that online returns via post will increase by over 50 per cent compared to the average number of return parcels per day in December.

The figures are based on the number of returns parcels handled by Royal Mail via a tracked returns service.

Royal Mail said that there had already been an increase of returns by 41 per cent in the week after Christmas – compared to an average day in December.

“Monday is set to be a huge day for mailing back unwanted Christmas gifts and online purchases,” said Nick Landon, Royal Mail managing director. “We expect the volume of return parcels to jump by more than 50 per cent on this single day.

“More and more shoppers are using the post to return their unwanted online purchases. At this time of year the easiest way for many shoppers to return their items is to pop them in the mail rather than tackle the post-Christmas queues.”