Post Office has revealed that it is evolving and expanding its retail offering in branches to turn them into one-stop shops to help fill the gap left by the demise of local high streets.
The business has been rolling out its ‘Branch MOTs’ – part of a ‘Commercial Excellence’ programme – to achieve this aim. The initiative helps postmasters run successful post offices and also thriving retail businesses within local communities.
Some 2,781 branches so far have had a Branch MOT since the launch of the scheme in the fourth quarter of 2022, with 60% of postmasters saying the reviews have been valuable, and more than 41% of postmasters have made changes following their personalised recommendations.
Overall results show potential savings for branches could be at least £12,615 per year based on simple changes to streamline efficiencies and maximise retail opportunities.
Martin Roberts, Group Chief Retail Officer at Post Office, said: “Branch MOTs are in-depth reviews of our post offices. Area managers visit branches and craft high-level recommendations for each branch to enable postmasters to make positive changes, where needed, based on transactional, commercial and product-level data alongside real-world projections such as location, footfall and staffing.
“They let our postmasters know we care about them and creates a sense of family and unity at the heart of Post Office. Well over two thousand visits have been completed. Visits are happening every week and they are helping postmasters. It’s a privilege to lead a great team of people across the business focused on delivering for postmasters and our customers.”
Although consumers are increasingly ‘online’ and digital-focused, Post Office has found they still value and consider face-to-face customer service essential.
Roberts said: “Our postmasters are very heavily involved in the community and so the customer service provided is important to Post Office and is a priority. If you look at some of the big retailers and supermarkets, they’ve pulled away a little bit from the community.
“Our postmasters understand their customers and have often known them for decades allowing them to build trusted relationships and I think that’s where you get lifetime loyalty and I’m a big fan of developing lifetime loyalty. I want communities to thrive.”
Personal and local retail is a space the Post Office is perfectly placed to ‘own’ whether that’s through the travel money services offered, ‘Drop & Go’ option for packages, or the banking services and convenience store offerings.
“Many of our Post Offices offer a fantastic retail blend of essential services including banking and also sell everyday products you would find in a supermarket: they have become one-stop shops,” said Roberts.
Post Office has also been enhancing its Branch Hub, an online performance tool, which allows postmasters to see how their products are performing, benchmark that performance over time and with peers and link revenue with sales data.
This tool has seen significant increase in usage this year, with 22,600 visits to the site in the last week of July alone and almost 90,000 visits across the whole of August, as postmasters look to keep close tabs on how to develop and maximise opportunities for their businesses as they head into the busy Christmas period.
Roberts added:“As the UK’s retail sector continues to evolve, driven by the changes in the way consumers spend and the changing face of local high streets, so Post Office has evolved.
“The changes in place will ensure Post Office is future-proofed and our branches are at the heart of local communities providing face-to-face access to essential retail services.”
