Parcel Lockers, Collection Points and Work Delivery: Which Delivery Options Should UK Brands Offer?

Most UK brands should offer home delivery plus one out-of-home option, usually a parcel locker or collection point network, then add workplace delivery if customer data supports it. Check product size, weight and eligibility first, confirm your 3PL can label and route each service, and test take-up before adding more choices.

Delivery choice at checkout used to mean standard or next day to the front door. That has changed. Two in five UK adults used a parcel locker in the past year, collection points are a normal way to send returns, and some customers would rather receive orders at work. Each option comes with its own size limits, label rules and costs, so offering one your warehouse cannot support creates more customer contacts than it saves.

This guide covers what the data shows, how the options compare, which products suit them and what to check with the partner that runs your courier management.

What Is Out-of-Home Delivery?

Out-of-home delivery means sending an order somewhere other than the customer's home address: a parcel locker, a staffed collection point or a workplace. Carriers often call staffed shops PUDO points, short for pick-up and drop-off.

Lockers are self-service machines opened with a code or an app, and many are available around the clock. Collection points are shops, petrol stations or post offices where staff hand over the parcel during opening hours. Workplace delivery is a standard delivery to a different address, so it uses normal services but depends on the employer accepting personal parcels. All three can also take returns, which matters as much as outbound delivery.

What the Data Says About UK Locker Use

Locker use is now mainstream in the UK. Research by InPost and Retail Economics, published in their Beyond the Doorstep report, estimates that 115 million retail parcels went through UK lockers in a year.

The report, published in July 2025, draws on a February 2025 survey of 2,000 UK households plus market modelling. It estimates 87 million outbound deliveries, around 7% of all online orders, and 28 million returns, around 12% of all online returns. About 21 million adults used a locker in the year, and a further 20% said they would be open to using one. Use is highest among younger shoppers: 66% of Gen Z and 54% of Millennials used a locker. Convenience was the most common reason (39%), followed by security (15%).

The research comes from a locker operator and its research partner, so treat the figures as a sign of direction rather than a forecast for your own customers. Your order data is the better guide to what your customers will choose.

How the Four Delivery Options Compare

No single delivery option suits every brand. Home delivery remains the default, while parcel lockers and collection points offer greater flexibility for customers who are out during the day. Workplace delivery can also be a practical option for those with a fixed place of work.

Home delivery is particularly suitable for customers who are usually at home, orders containing items of any size, or those who prefer delivery on a nominated day. However, brands need to consider the potential costs of failed first delivery attempts and redeliveries. Returns are typically managed through courier collection or designated drop-off locations.

Parcel lockers allow customers to collect orders at a convenient time, whether near their home, workplace or regular commute. However, compartment size and weight restrictions may limit which products can be delivered this way. Some regulated or age-restricted goods may also be ineligible. Depending on the carrier, customers can return items directly through a parcel locker using a shipping label or QR code.

Collection points (PUDO) provide an alternative for customers who prefer a staffed handover and longer opening hours. These locations can be particularly convenient for people who are unavailable during standard home delivery hours. However, availability depends on individual shop opening times and carrier network coverage. Collection points also serve as a common drop-off location for customer returns.

Workplace delivery is useful for customers who spend most of the day away from home but have a fixed office location. Before choosing this option, customers should check whether their employer permits personal deliveries and whether any signature requirements apply. Returns generally follow the retailer's standard returns process.

Which Products Suit Lockers and Collection Points?

Small, light and sturdy items suit lockers best. Check every network's size and weight limits against your range before you offer the option, because a parcel that does not fit has to be redirected or returned.

Bulky, heavy or high-value items may not suit lockers. Fragile items need packaging that survives an extra handoff. Age-restricted and some regulated products may not be eligible at all. Mixed baskets need a rule too: if one item in an order is too large, the whole order needs a different service, so your checkout should hide the locker option by SKU rather than by order value alone. Send a few real orders through each option before you show it to every customer.

Do More Delivery Options Improve Conversion?

Delivery choice can help conversion when the options are clear and priced sensibly, but too many choices slow the decision. Start with two or three options, measure how often each is chosen and adjust.

Locker and collection services may be priced differently from home delivery, so check your own rate card before deciding what to charge the customer. Track take-up, cost per order, failed first attempts and delivery-related contacts for each option. Our article on delivery expectations in 2026 covers what UK shoppers now treat as standard.

Returns Through Lockers and Collection Points

Returns are one of the strongest reasons to offer out-of-home options. The InPost and Retail Economics research puts lockers at around 12% of UK online returns, because customers value a drop-off that does not mean waiting in for a courier.

If you offer locker or shop returns, make sure the label or QR code is easy for the customer to create, the parcel is tracked back to the warehouse and the refund starts when the item is scanned. Decide whether a returns platform or your sales channel creates the label, and ask how quickly the warehouse processes what arrives. Our guide to checking a 3PL can handle the post-Christmas returns spike covers the capacity side.

What Your 3PL Needs to Support

Your fulfilment partner has to receive the customer's chosen locker or collection point with the order, print the correct label for that service and hand the parcel to the right carrier. If any step breaks, the parcel goes to the wrong place or back to the home address.

This is where many locker roll-outs stall. Checkout apps capture the locker the customer picked, but when a third party such as a 3PL prints the labels, an extra integration is often needed so the locker ID reaches the warehouse label system. Ask these questions before you switch the option on:

• Which carriers and services can you label for lockers, collection points and workplace delivery?
• How does the locker or shop ID reach your system, and what happens if it is missing?
• What size and weight checks happen at packing, and how are oversize parcels handled?
• How do tracking and collection notifications reach the customer?
• How are locker and shop returns received, checked and refunded?
• How do these services appear on your invoices?
• Who manages the carrier when a parcel is stuck at a locker?

How Fulfil with Synergy Supports Delivery Choice

Fulfil with Synergy, the Northampton-based third-party logistics provider, integrates with almost every national and international courier network and offers home, work and collection point delivery, alongside express, standard and economy services, for brands selling through multi-channel and retail fulfilment.

Its courier management gives brands tracking, accurate ETAs and proactive exception handling when something does not go to plan. Fulfil with Synergy is also introducing address validation software that checks addresses against Royal Mail and other sources, so incorrect details are flagged before a parcel leaves. Orders are tracked from pick to pack to dispatch in its RedPrairie Dispatcher warehouse management system, described on the technology and automation page.

For returns, the returns service integrates with SWAP or your chosen returns platform. An on-site team working six days a week scans, inspects, reason-codes and photographs every item and processes it within 48 hours, so refunds are not held up. Each brand has dedicated account management, which is the place to decide which delivery options suit your range. The locker and collection services available depend on your products and volumes, so ask the team which networks fit your range. Our guide to multi-carrier delivery strategies explains how carrier choice works in practice.

A Simple Way to Decide

Use your own order data, then test before you commit. These steps work for most brands:

1. Look at where orders go and how many fail or need redelivery.
2. Check your range against each network's size and weight limits, and set SKU exclusions.
3. Confirm your 3PL can label and route each service end to end.
4. Send a small number of test orders through each option.
5. Show two or three choices at checkout for a month and measure take-up, cost per order and contact rate.
6. Review returns performance before adding more options.

FAQ

How many UK shoppers use parcel lockers?

Around two in five UK adults, about 21 million people, used a parcel locker in the year covered by InPost and Retail Economics research published in July 2025. A further 20% said they would consider one, and use is highest among Gen Z (66%) and Millennials (54%). The figures come from a locker operator and its research partner, based on a survey of 2,000 households, so they show the direction of travel rather than what your customers will do. Your checkout data and a short test will tell you more about take-up for your brand.

What is the difference between a parcel locker and a collection point?

A parcel locker is an unstaffed machine the customer opens with a code or app, often available around the clock. A collection point, also called a PUDO point, is a shop or post office where staff hand over the parcel during opening hours. Lockers suit small items and customers who collect late in the evening. Collection points suit customers who prefer a person to hand over the item or accept a return. Many brands offer both through one carrier network, which keeps the checkout simple and the label set-up manageable for the warehouse.

Should every brand offer lockers and collection points?

Not every brand. Lockers and collection points suit small, light products and customers who are out during the day. Brands selling bulky, heavy, high-value or age-restricted goods may find many orders are ineligible, so the option adds complexity without much take-up. Check your range against each network's size and weight limits, confirm your 3PL can label and route the service, and look at how many of your deliveries fail first time. If failed deliveries are rare and products are large, home delivery may be enough for now.

Do lockers help with returns?

Yes, for many brands. InPost and Retail Economics estimate that about 28 million returns, around 12% of UK online returns, went through lockers in a year, because customers value a drop-off that fits around their day. To make it work, the returns label or QR code must be easy to create, the parcel must be tracked back to the warehouse and the refund should start when the item is scanned. Ask your fulfilment partner how quickly locker returns are processed once they arrive.

Does Fulfil with Synergy offer locker and collection point delivery?

Fulfil with Synergy offers home, work and collection point delivery through its courier management service, which integrates with almost every national and international courier network. The locker and collection services available depend on your products, volumes and the carriers that suit them. Its courier management includes tracking, accurate ETAs and proactive exception handling, and returns are processed within 48 hours by an on-site team. Your account manager can confirm which networks fit your range and help you test them before you show them to every customer.

If you want to add lockers, collection points or workplace delivery without losing control of cost, talk to Fulfil with Synergy about your carrier set-up.

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