Key insights:

  • 54% of Britons sending Christmas gifts this year plan to use Royal Mail, up from 30% in 2024.
  • The share planning to use online retailers to send gifts directly has doubled from 12% last year to 25%.
  • BrandIndex data shows Royal Mail leading on Impression (21.5) and Satisfaction (34.3) score, far ahead of competitors.

With Christmas approaching, many Brits are preparing to send gifts to friends and family, and new data suggests a shift in how they plan to get those parcels to the doorstep. A YouGov Surveys: Self-serve poll of 1,000 UK adults finds that 49% intend to send Christmas gifts this year. Among these, 54% are planning to send gifts via Royal Mail, a rise from 30% who said the same in 2024.

Other courier services remain far less popular by comparison: Evri (4%), Parcelforce (2%), DHL (2%), FedEx (2%), DPD (1%) and UPS (1%) sit in the low single digits.

At the same time, a growing share of gift-givers are bypassing courier services altogether by asking retailers to ship gifts directly to recipients. A quarter (25%) of those sending gifts say they will use an online retailer – up from 12% last year.

Yet, Royal Mail’s strong seasonal position isn’t emerging in isolation. Brand perception data from YouGov BrandIndex (November 15, 2024, to November 15, 2025) offers important context for why the postal service is so dominant heading into the holidays.

Among consumers aware of each brand, Royal Mail leads several customer metrics while some competitors face significant perception challenges.

  • Impression: Royal Mail posts the strongest impression with a net score of 21.5, well ahead of the rest of the market. DPD (14.6), DHL (13.7), FedEx (11.2) and Parcelforce (10.1) form a mid-tier cluster with modest but positive perceptions.
  • Quality: Royal Mail is at the top (17) followed by DHL (13.5) and DPD (11.9). FedEx (12.6) also performs well. Parcelforce (7.9) and UPS (9.6) occupy the middle ground.

  • Value for money: Value scores are generally low across the sector. DPD (5) and DHL (4.9) lead, followed by FedEx (3.5) and Royal Mail (2.9). UPS (1.6), Parcelforce (1.3), Evri (1.7), and Yodel (-2.1) sit towards the bottom.
  • Reputation: Royal Mail tops the list with a Reputation net score of 12.2, followed by FedEx (10.7), DHL (10.2), DPD (5), Parcelforce (4.5) and UPS (7.3).
  • Customer satisfaction: Satisfaction scores are strongest for Royal Mail (34.3) and FedEx (31.6), with DPD (29.3) and DHL (26.9) also performing well.
  • Likelihood to Recommend: Royal Mail leads again with 18.7, followed by DPD (11.1), DHL (10.5). FedEx (8.8), Parcelforce (6.4) and UPS (6.3).

Methodology:

YouGov polled 1,000 UK adults online on November 20, 2025. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. The margin of error is 3% for the overall sample.

YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. This second chart of the article compares Royal Mail, DPD, DHL, FedEx, Parcelforce, UPS, Yodel, and Evri. The scores are based on the questions - Impression: Which of the following brands do you have a generally POSITIVE/NEGATIVE feeling about? Satisfaction: Which of the following brands would you say that you are a SATISFIED/ DISSATISFIED customer of? Quality: Which of the following brands do you think represents GOOD/POOR quality? Reputation: Imagine you were looking for a job (or advising a friend looking for a job) Which of the following companies would you be PROUD/EMBARRASSED to work for? Value: Which of the following brands do you think represents GOOD/POOR VALUE FOR MONEY? Recommend: Which of the following brands would you RECOMMEND/tell a friend to AVOID? Scores are reported as net scores from –100 to +100 based on daily UK surveys weighted by age, gender, region, social grade, and ethnicity. Figures reflect the period November 15, 2024, to November 15, 2025, with a sample size ranging from 24,281 to 31,028.

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