We’re following the latest news about the Royal Mail price increase to keep you updated. Here’s what we know currently.
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Published 26th July 2023
Notification of Royal Mail price rise from October 2023
When do postal rates go up? Following a recent communication from Royal Mail Wholesale, we want to update you about a future price increase affecting business postal services.
We expect to see a Royal Mail Business Mail price rise in October 2023. This increase has been brought forward from its usual November rise in postage costs.
Although we are awaiting more information regarding this announcement, Royal Mail has stated it will increase its Access Mail prices from 2nd October 2023. All services will be affected, specifically the Business Mail, Mailmark, and Letter service.
Royal Mail indicates the price rise stems from the increasing costs of delivering mail and the challenging economic climate.
We will share further notifications about postal service increases that may affect clients and when we receive them.
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Published 27th March 2023
Did Royal Mail prices go up?
From 3rd April 2023, there is a Royal Mail price rise of 16%.
The price of first-class stamps will increase by 15p to £1.10, and second-class stamps cost 75p (up by 7p).
Find out the current postal prices for letters and parcels on the Royal Mail website.
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Published 6th March 2023
Are Royal Mail prices increasing in 2023?
We have received communications of Royal Mail price rises for 2023.
Royal Mail postal prices increase from 3rd April 2023 and will affect personal and business customers sending letters and parcels.
What are the new Royal Mail prices?
The price of a first-class stamp will rise above £1 in April, representing a 64% increase over the last five years.
Find out what the price of a stamp will be from the Royal Mail website.
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Published 20th October 2022
Royal Mail price increase – November 2022
Royal Mail has confirmed that postage prices are changing for Marketing Services and General Correspondence products from 7 November 2022.
The following is included in the price increase:
- Royal Mail Advertising Mail
- Royal Mail Business Mail
- Royal Mail Publishing Mail
- Response Services
- Partially Addressed Mail
- Poll Card Mailing Option
Subscription Mail is to rise in price from 3 January 2023. This increase is expected to be announced in December 2022.
See all Royal Mail prices for 2022.
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Published 13th October 2022
Royal Mail price increase – November 2022
There’s been a lot of focus on Royal Mail in the news lately.
With the Royal Mail postal strikes, Queen Elizabeth II’s passing and questions surrounding King Charles III’s new insignia, there has been a lot of turbulence.
However, as the economy responds to the financial crisis, we can continue to expect even more change from Royal Mail in the upcoming months.
The UK’s universal postal service is currently experiencing a wave of trade union strikes, and due to inflationary pressures and rising costs, the Royal Mail price increase 2022 is forecasted to take place earlier than usual.
The latest guidance states there will be a Royal Mail price rise in November 2022.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Royal Mail price increases.
What exactly is increasing and when?
Historically, Royal Mail price increases take place in January. However, the tariff increase for wholesale mailing services has been brought forward to the 7th of November 2022 rather than January 2023.
More specifically, the Royal Mail postage price increase 2022 incurs a:
- 5% increase in Advertising Mail
- 10% increase in Large Business Mail Letters
- 18% increase in Business Mail Letters
When and what was the last increase?
In April 2022, there was a Royal Mail stamp price increase of 10p, raising the cost of a first-class stamp from 85p to 95p. Second-class stamps increased marginally from 66p to 68p.
The Royal Mail postage price increase also took place during April. Postage for all first-class letter stamps increased by 16p from £1.29 to £1.45, whereas postage for second-class letter stamps rose by 9p from 96p to £1.05.
Why does Royal Mail increase prices?
The Royal Mail price increases for 2022 can be attributed to several conflicting factors:
- Falling revenues
- Higher energy costs
- Rise of inflation
- Cost of living crisis
- Increase in wages
- Post-pandemic drop in demand
To guarantee a universal service, accelerate its development, and remain financially stable, the company has opted to increase their prices.
What does this mean for organisations?
When it comes to developing long-standing relationships, customer mail continues to form a central part of many organisations’ strategies. Many notices are now delivered digitally.
However, there is still high demand for physical communication, which must be catered for.
As Royal Mail increases its prices, organisations that rely on its services should review their operational costs and factor in these changes.
High-volume mailers may benefit from conducting in-depth analysis and liaising with different providers to see if they can reduce their postage costs.
How to keep your mailing costs down
So, how can you keep your mailing costs down to counteract the Royal Mail price increase 2022 UK?
We recommend you:
Practice good database management
Regularly reviewing and updating your database can save you both time and money.
By conducting great data etiquette, you’ll reduce the likelihood of duplicate mail and reduce waste.
Rather than disturbing your customers with unnecessary letters and parcels, great data management will ensure your outbound customer communication always reaches its intended target.
Make sure addresses are accurate
A slight inaccuracy in your customer’s address details can lead to several issues. For example, undelivered letters, slower collection rates, and higher postage costs.
If you send an invoice to an incomplete or incorrect address, you’ll need to reprint your letter, pay double for postage, and wait longer to process the payment.
Conduct an audit of incomplete addresses to append data with any missing fields.
Invest in print and post solutions
Investing in print and post solutions can result in significant cost savings whilst increasing the quality of communication and boosting employee productivity.
As noted above, the price of stamps and postage continues to rise. When you outsource printing responsibilities to a third-party, you can consolidate the costs to produce and send mail into a single fee.
This means that you can focus on increasing customer satisfaction and engagement instead of worrying about margins.
Forget about misprinted letters and wasted envelopes; outsourcing your printing requirements means you only have to pay for the successfully delivered mail.
This can help reduce waste and save precious time that is better spent elsewhere.
State-of-the-art printers provide a professional edge to your outbound communications. However, they also entail a long list of maintenance costs.
Apart from the initial investment, you’ll need to factor in the cost of supplies, such as paper and ink, and potential repairs.
Print and post solutions allow organisations to make the most of high-spec printers without considering additional expenses.
Printing providers, like Datagraphic, work alongside Downstream Access (DSA) suppliers and facilitate access to bulk discounts that smaller organisations may not be able to secure.
This means that you can take advantage of discounted rates that may otherwise not be available for your print volumes.
Lastly, investing in print and post solutions, like our Hybrid Mail service, will free up more time for your employees.
Rather than wasting time on tedious and monotonous printing tasks, your employees can feel more empowered and productive by providing greater value in other areas of the organisation.
Invest in multichannel communication platforms
If you want to streamline your outbound communication, physically and digitally, we recommend you invest in a multichannel communication platform such as Aceni.
Datagraphic’s Aceni helps organisations automate the production and distribution of outbound mail securely and effortlessly.
With Hybrid Mail, organisations can upload their documents digitally and let Datagraphic take care of the printing and postage procedures.
You can manage both physical and digital communication from the same centralised platform. As a result, employees and customers receive a seamless experience.
Final thoughts
The Royal Mail stamp price increase in 2022 will likely affect anyone who sends post.
Nevertheless, organisations that send hundreds of documents daily and rely on postal services to build customer relationships will be most affected.
Ensuring your audience receives their mail on time and effectively is of the essence.
However, organisations must also ensure their operational procedures are as cost-effective as possible.
Investing in a multichannel communication platform like Datagraphic’s Aceni is the easiest way to overcome these challenges.
If you’re interested in learning more about Datagraphic’s Hybrid Mail and how it can offset the impact of Royal Mail price increases, don’t hesitate to contact us or request a demo.
