WH Smith ditches Royal Mail in delivery promise

WHSmith.co.uk has ditched Royal Mail in favour of a private delivery company to help allay customer concerns over late deliveries. The e-tailer has appointed Business Express to handle the delivery of its online orders in future, rather than rely on the standard Royal Mail service. The switchover began on Wednesday in time to handle Christmas orders.

Royal Mail, controlled by Consignia, admitted recently that its service was unreliable with less than 75% of first class post being delivered on time. Last Chrismas, the reputation of online retailing suffered a serious blow when Royal Mail was forced to admit it would be unable to guarantee delivery of good on time.

A WH Smith spokeswoman said that consumer concern over postal service efficiency is the driver behind the new deal. She said: Problems were experienced last year that werent the fault of the internet but were the fault of the delivery. She said feedback from online retailers last Christmas indicated that large numbers of gifts ordered online arrived at least a week late. I think everyone has learnt their lesson she added.

Business Express 48 hour guaranteed service means that WHSmith.co.uk customers will be able to buy gifts as late as December 20 for a promised Christmas delivery. The WH Smith spokeswoman would not reveal how much the new delivery service will add to costs.