Half of people (47%) say delivery drivers now play a more important role in their community than posties, amid a boom in online shopping and home deliveries
New report from Mercedes-Benz Vans reveals postmen visit average 2.3 times a week compared with 2.7 for delivery drivers.
Young people get average 5.4 van deliveries a week but only 2.5 visits from the postman.
Customers are as likely to tip their delivery driver as their postman at Christmas – and more likely to offer them a drink or let them use their toilet
Delivery driver Simon Deniel, 51, Northumberland, says helping and getting to know his community is one of the most rewarding parts of the job
LONDON: The humble postman has been part of our cultural furniture for over 200 years – as British as a cup of tea or unpredictable summer weather.
But they’re facing stiff competition in the country’s affections with half of Brits (47%) believing delivery drivers now play a more important role in their community than posties. Amid the boom in online shopping and home deliveries a similar figure (40%) said they feel as much warmth and affection towards delivery drivers as they do towards their postman.
The findings, from Mercedes-Benz Vans’ new Under the Bonnet report, also reveal delivery drivers make more visits to households than the postman - knocking on our doors an average of 2.7 times a week, compared with 2.3 times a week for postmen.
For 18-34-year-olds - who have grown up with on-demand deliveries and buying on sites like Vinted - the average weekly number of van deliveries rises to 5.4 compared with 2.5 postal visits.
The trend comes as the volume of letters posted has halved over the last decade while home deliveries have soared. It’s led to a 37% increase in the number of vans on UK roads; in 2012 there were 3.2m, by 2022 the number had risen to 4.5m.
Ex-serviceman Simon Deniel, 51, Northumberland, has been working as a delivery driver for five years and has seen first-hand how people’s online shopping habits have changed.
“So many of us started getting our groceries delivered to avoid contact with others but now have settled into the rhythm of online shopping because, frankly, it’s so much easier.
“I’ve got to know so many people within my community so well. I’m always having a chat on the doorstep with my regulars – or if I see a customer on the street, I’ll wind my window down, say hello and ask them how they’re getting on.
“Over time, you get to know them and their families, and that’s what makes the job so rewarding.”
The Mercedes-Benz Vans report also looks at the changing nature of our relationships with the trades and service sectors who visit us at home.
It reveals customers are building up closer and more trusting relationships with delivery drivers – which include supermarket and parcel delivery drivers – with a third (33%) saying they’d offer a delivery driver a glass of water on a hot day compared with 25 per cent who’d do the same for a postman and 22 per cent for a tradesperson.
Almost one in 10 (9%) would ask a tradesperson or delivery driver (8%) for local service recommendations and 15 per cent said they’d chat to a delivery driver about their family or daily life. That compares with 13 per cent who’d have a similar chat with their postie and 12 per cent who’d talk to a tradesperson about their home life. Just 4% said they’d chat to a takeaway delivery driver.
Mercedes-Benz Vans research found nearly a quarter (24%) would let a supermarket or delivery driver into their home to use their toilet, compared with 20 per cent who’d allow a tradesperson to use their facilities. Less than one in five (19%) would let the postie in and just seven per cent would allow a takeaway driver to use their bathroom.
Meanwhile one in 10 (12%) said they would offer their delivery driver a cash tip at Christmas - the same figure who would give their postman a Christmas tip. Just seven per cent would give their takeaway driver a festive bonus dropping to five per cent for tradespeople or the milkman.
Despite the shift in relationships postmen and women were the group most likely to know their customer’s names (21%) closely followed by delivery drivers (19%) and tradespeople (15%). Just 5% said takeaway drivers would know them by name.
Sarah Palfreyman, Sales Director for Mercedes-Benz Vans in the UK said: “Our Under the Bonnet report demonstrates the crucial role van drivers play in our communities, fuelled by the rise in online shopping and home deliveries.
“We’re proud to keep van drivers moving with reliable transport, so they can continue to carry out their increasingly important work within our communities.’”