Royal Mail has announced plans to enhance its e-commerce tracked delivery service to improve retailers’ and customers’ experience.

The customer and retailer will be given more information on the status of the item while in transit through the Royal Mail network. There will be an option to have the parcel delivered to a neighbour should the recipient not be at home. Under the new offering the customer will be informed as to what neighbour has received the item.

Customer Service Points Parcel Acceptance will also allow customers to take their pre-paid, barcoded items and receive an acceptance scan on drop off. This will allow retailers to better manage their inventories as they will receive earlier notice about items and adds convenience for customers.

The Royal Mail customer will also get SMS and email notifications regarding the delivery should they not be at home. This will tell them when their parcel is ready for collection from a Customer Service Point. They can also rearrange parcel delivery for another day or choose to collect it as they have been able to do until now.

The ‘sorry we missed you’ card will continue to be put through letterboxes.