Royal Mail DM26 rollout halted until January, but Christmas post still in doubt

Royal Mail has halted the full rollout of its new delivery model, known as DM26, until January after a backlash from the Government, the Communication Workers Union and business customers. The final 107 delivery offices due to switch will now wait until at least 11 January 2027, as Decision Marketing reported. Direct mail and ecommerce clients, though, are far from convinced that the pause will protect Black Friday and Christmas.

What has changed

DM26 followed Ofcom’s changes to the Universal Service Obligation. It moves second-class letters to alternate-day delivery and ends second-class deliveries on Saturdays, while first-class post and parcels are unaffected. Royal Mail had planned to complete the switch across all 1,200 delivery offices by Christmas.

Under the pause, a final batch of 15 offices already well advanced will still move over on 2 November, which leaves the new model running in around 90% of delivery offices through the winter. Prime Minister Andy Burnham had warned the company that its service had been “unacceptable for far too long”, according to PA, via the Irish News. The CWU, which initially backed the changes, had campaigned for a freeze, and Decision Marketing says it has also won an independent fatigue study and a commitment to make more than 8,000 temporary or part-time roles permanent.

Can Royal Mail cope with peak?

Chief executive Alistair Cochrane says first-class next-day delivery has improved to 85%, although that is still below the 90% target. For the festive rush, Royal Mail is adding 22,000 seasonal workers, 7,500 extra hire vans and five temporary parcel sorting centres.

Not everyone is reassured. Ecommerce groups have warned that disruption could be disastrous for smaller merchants, and one industry source told Decision Marketing: “The damage already appears to have been done.” Liam Byrne, chair of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, has said the postal service remains far from fixed.

Why it matters

This is the next turn in a story that has dogged the direct mail industry all autumn, from the clash between Royal Mail and the CWU over the delivery model to the U-turn on business mail prices. The pause removes one source of disruption, but the new model is already live in most of the network during the busiest weeks of the year.

For brands with door drops, catalogues or mailings booked around Black Friday and Christmas, the safe assumption is that delivery windows will be less predictable than in past years. Building in extra lead time, and keeping a digital back-up for time-sensitive offers, looks sensible until Royal Mail can prove that its performance has recovered.