The Delivery Conference never fails to please, and TDC2025 today was no exception. Partly they have the unique advantage of being the first major conference of the year, bringing the ecommerce and delivery industry together under one roof, but it’s also because it’s so well organised.
Whilst I’d love to namecheck everyone I ran into today, there were four key things that struck me as noteworthy at TDC2025.
1) Metapack’s Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report
If you’ve not yet downloaded Metapack’s Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report, we’d encourage you to do so. It covers everything from the key trends shaping the retail industry in 2025, drawing insights from thousands of consumers worldwide. From AI-driven enhancements and the unstoppable momentum of online marketplaces to the rise of social commerce and shifting consumer expectations. You can read more about the report here, and download the full report here.
2) The Post Office is back!
For the first time in many years, it was a pleasure to see the Post Office exhibiting at TDC2025, and they’ve lots to shout about, not least that they are now a multi-carrier destination, with the likes of Evri, DPD and Amazon services now on offer as well as Royal Mail.
3) Innovation with Stamp Free
Stamp Free were demonstrating how they can power Royal Mail Ecommerce Returns via WhatsApp. If you want to offer your customers a seamless, efficient, and user-friendly returns experience, then you really need to explore their solution and better still, get a demo from them as it’s compellingly simple. What really struck me about this is that younger consumers are increasing phone-phobic and hate making or receiving calls. They don’t want to phone your support team, they want to message you on WhatsApp and arrange their returns on their own terms!
4) DPD Delivery Robot
Yes I know delivery robots are old hat, but DPD had one on their stand and I was amazed at how large they are in real life. They’re gargantuan – bigger than a toddlers stroller and if you’ve not seen one they are worth a look. With multiple parcel lockers of different sizes on each side of the robot, they have the capability to make multiple drops on a single stroll around town.
The people
While the four takeaways above are all interesting, what really made TDC2025 special is the number of industry colleagues you can run into on one day. It was great to meet up with dozens of ecommerce friends
On a personal note The Delivery Conference always run the best press office ever – somewhere quiet where we can get our laptops out to work, with the main conference streamed on a large TV, and of course endless cups of tea and pastries to keep us journos working.
