Postbag full of Easter promise as Royal Mail predicts record card sending
Royal Mail predicts it will deliver over 14 million cards for Easter this year, the biggest postbag ever for the religious celebration and second only to Christmas in the volume of cards being sent!
Easter is now the second most popular calendar date for sending cards through the post after Christmas, surpassing its closest rival Valentine’s Day by nearly two million cards. Valentine’s Day is in third position (with over 12 million cards sent through the post) with Mother’s Day (12 million cards) and Father’s Day (with seven million cards) fourth and fifth respectively.
With this bumper postbag in mind, Royal Mail is encouraging people to make sure that they put the correct address on the envelope and include the postcode. Every year millions of cards and letters cannot be read by Royal Mail’s automated sorting machinery because the postcode has not been included, the item has been poorly addressed or the handwriting is difficult to read.
To help people check the postcode for their Easter cards and letters, Royal Mail’s online postcode checker – available at www.royalmail.com – enables people to double-check the address by showing its location as well as the postcode. Postcodes can also be checked by calling 08457 111 222.
Alex Batchelor, Royal Mail’s Marketing Director, said: “It is important, particularly at peak posting dates, that people address their letter and cards properly and use the postcode. Letters and cards that have clearly written addresses and a postcode can be sorted by our machines and handled 20 times faster than by hand.”
He added: “Many of millions of items of mail handled by Royal Mail every year are incorrectly or poorly addressed but are still delivered to the right recipients thanks to the hard work, local knowledge and dedication of postmen and women across the UK.
“By taking care with addressing and using the postcode, people can help to ensure that cards and letters arrive safely, and help their postmen and women at one of the busiest times of the year.”
