Royal Mail has increased the prices of its stamps today. A first-class stamp now costs £1.80, while a second-class stamp is priced at 91p. This marks a significant rise from the 2016 price of 64p for a first-class stamp, representing an increase of 181% over the past decade.
The postal service attributed the price hike to declining letter volumes and a rise in the number of delivery addresses. Richard Travers, Royal Mail’s managing director of letters, emphasized the careful consideration of price adjustments to balance affordability with the escalating costs of mail delivery.
In response to changing consumer habits, with UK adults now spending an average of just £6.50 annually on stamps and a 70% decrease in letters sent compared to two decades ago, Royal Mail highlighted a substantial increase in the number of addresses served, reaching 32 million addresses across the UK.
Despite facing criticism for missing delivery targets, Royal Mail reported delivering 77% of first-class mail and 92.5% of second-class mail on time in the 2024/25 financial year, falling short of its 93% and 98.5% targets. The last time the company met its annual target for timely first-class post delivery was in 2019/20.
Following regulatory approval from Ofcom, Royal Mail has adjusted its delivery schedule, no longer delivering second-class post on Saturdays and only providing service on alternate weekdays. However, the company maintains a target for second-class letters to arrive within three working days.
Last year, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group acquired Royal Mail for £3.6 billion. Kretinsky acknowledged the delays in mail delivery and stressed the need for reforms to address the challenges faced by the postal service, expressing regret for any late deliveries while defending the service’s overall performance in recent years.
While admitting that there is room for improvement in service quality, Kretinsky affirmed the consistency of Royal Mail’s performance over the past three years, disputing claims of a decline in service quality based on available data.
