Royal Mail disruption: what delivery delays mean for small businesses

As is often the case in the UK, the recent extreme weather conditions have put many of the country’s key services under strain – notably, Royal Mail. 

The postal service has come under scrutiny after reports of delays and even missed deliveries. In response, Royal Mail has explained the disruption was due to the January storms, alongside higher-than-usual staff sickness. 

While the occasional late delivery isn’t the end of the world, for businesses relying on delivery services to complete orders, it can impact reputation and customer satisfaction. So how should ecommerce businesses deal with delivery delays to protect their brands?

What’s happening with Royal Mail?

According to the BBC, daily post rounds are regularly missed, with letters being delayed for weeks, citing reports from several Royal Mail staff across the country.

In response, Royal Mail said that “adverse weather, including storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra in January, alongside higher than usual sick absence” had caused the “short-term disruption to certain routes”.

“Where a delay affects a route, we work to resolve it as quickly as possible by putting in extra support and reviewing performance daily to restore deliveries as quickly as possible,” they added.

The delays have garnered frustration with Royal Mail, and Citizens Advice found that around 16 million people experienced failed deliveries during the Christmas period.

In addition, Royal Mail received a £21 million fine from Ofcom after falling short of its annual delivery targets, which is the third biggest fine ever issued by the regulator.

In short, Royal Mail’s standards are clearly slipping, but unfortunately, the impact of missed deliveries spans wider than the carrier itself and can impact small businesses relying on the service to complete orders. 

The risk for ecommerce SMEs

Many UK-based SMEs work with Royal Mail for its widespread coverage, competitive pricing, and integration with ecommerce platforms. As a heritage company with a history longer than 500 years, it’s traditionally thought of as a trustworthy option. But recent events have thrown its reputation into question. 

For ecommerce businesses, even “short-term disruption” can result in unhappy customers, which can lead to complaints, refund requests, and negative reviews. The picture is worse for smaller retailers, since they’re more likely to already be operating on tighter margins.

Delayed deliveries increase customer service workload, compensation costs and chargebacks. Poor delivery experiences affect trust and may even deter repeat purchases, particularly for first-time buyers.

How SMEs should deal with delivery disruption

Of course, adverse weather conditions aren’t going away any time soon. The best course of action is to safeguard your business against near-inevitable delivery delays. 

Diversification is a wise move in the face of unreliable deliveries. Set up accounts with at least two different courier services, so you have options to fall back on in case of disruption. You don’t need to ditch Royal Mail completely, but having contingency plans never hurts. 

In addition, transparency is key when communicating with customers about delivery. In the case of weather-related delays, update delivery timelines accordingly at the checkout stage to manage expectations. 

It’s best to communicate proactively, rather than reactively, when it comes to delays. Demonstrating to your customers that you’re ahead of problems before they arise will also build trust and minimise the likelihood of customer complaints.

Ultimately, delivery is an important final step of your brand experience, which can leave a lasting impression for better or worse. So while it’s frustrating that it’s sometimes out of your control, there are steps you can take to help your business bounce back from inevitable disruption.