Sainsbury’s has entered into a long-term partnership with Royal Mail, to introduce parcel lockers to stores across the UK.

Sainsbury’s is the first supermarket chain to team up with Royal Mail on its rapidly expanding network of parcel drop-off and collection points.

The British postal service first launched its parcel locker network in December to meet surging demand for convenient parcel drop-off and collection points, and to cater for the growing number of second-hand marketplace sellers.

The lockers, which can already be found in six Sainsbury’s stores, offer a parcel drop-off service, and will soon include collection options.

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The smart lockers also offer label printing, with customers required to pay for postage online and print a label by scanning a QR code at the locker, or by requesting a QR code if they are returning an item.

Sainsbury’s chief property and procurement officer Patrick Dunne said: “At Sainsbury’s we’re always looking for innovative ways to deliver the best value, quality and service for our customers. That’s why we’re delighted to be partnering with Royal Mail to offer this fantastic new proposition at our stores.

“The lockers will be available seven days a week, giving customers an easy, convenient way to drop off and collect parcels via Royal Mail as they shop.”

Royal Mail group strategy and transformation director Jack Clarkson added: “Partnering with a retailer with the scale and popularity of Sainsbury’s is great news for our customers and the UK public, who will now have even more ways to drop off and collect their parcels in convenient locations.

“Due to the relentless growth in online shopping and secondhand marketplaces, there is increased demand from our customers for more parcel drop off and collection points. To meet our goal of making sending and receiving parcels as easy as possible, we must considerably expand our network. This is the start of an exciting partnership with Sainsbury’s that will help us to meet that goal at pace.”