Primary Audience: West Midlands DTC founder
Summary: Royal Mail price changes are a reminder that ‘free tracked delivery’ is a margin decision; set your offer around basket value, pick/pack, and real carrier cost.
Suggested Posting Day: Wednesday
If you’re still pricing your shipping like it’s 2021, you’re going to feel it this quarter.
Royal Mail put new prices in from Tuesday 7 April.
That might sound like background noise.
But for a small DTC brand, it’s the difference between a profitable first order and a loss leader you repeat all day.
Here’s what I see from a Birmingham depot:
“Free delivery” isn’t a perk.
It’s a choice about where you want the cost to sit — product price, shipping line, or your margin.
Mini-example:
A Midlands brand selling a £28 product wanted “free tracked delivery” on every order to match bigger competitors.
Two weeks later we were looking at the P&L and the maths was brutal.
Average basket size was too low, so every order was quietly subsidised.
The marketing looked great.
The margin didn’t.
Practical takeaway:
Before you promise anything on delivery, do a quick 3-number check:
1) your average basket value
2) your average pick/pack cost
3) your realistic carrier cost (including the recent increases)
If those three don’t leave you room to breathe, change the offer now — bundle, raise the threshold, or charge delivery honestly.
If your shipping promise got more expensive overnight, what are you changing first: basket threshold, product price, or delivery speed?
Source Notes:
- Royal Mail price changes effective Tuesday 7 April 2026 (summary): https://www.mymailingroom.com/new-royal-mail-prices-2026