New research commissioned by curated online marketplace notonthehighstreet has found that the pandemic has brought posties closer to their communities in London than ever before, as one in five Londoners (20%) plan to spend on a thank-you for their postal worker this Christmas.

Half of adults (50%) in the city have received more post than usual since lockdown began in March, most in need of a perk up, with three in ten (29%) relying on things they have ordered in the post to cheer themselves up and a fifth (18%) saying that their happy postie makes them feel happy, too.

As the national lockdown has meant Londoners are closer to their posties, with 10% knowing theirs by name, it’s no surprise that over a third (38%) who plan to gift their postie this Christmas are planning on doing so for the first time ever.

The research has uncovered just how much the nation has valued their daily postie visit since March’s lockdown with 1.9m Brits now going so far as to call their postie a friend. One in 10 (11%) say that receiving post is the most exciting part of their day, 12% rely on them as a familiar face to see everyday, and over 1.5m Brits say they rely on their postie to stop them from being lonely. It’s no surprise then that 15% of the nation now know their postie by name, the highest percentage of all the community workers according to the poll.

Postal workers have worked harder than ever to keep people connected and small businesses thriving during the pandemic – with more than half of British adults (59%) appreciating postal workers more as a result. Thanks to their ongoing deliveries under extraordinary circumstances, a fifth (21%) of the nation will gift their postal worker this year as a thank you. In fact, they’re planning to spend £487m on gifts for Britain’s key workers* overall including nurses and teachers as their essential work during the pandemic continues.

In a bid to celebrate the work of Britain’s postal workers, notonthehighstreet is giving people the opportunity to show appreciation for their postie and encouraging Brits to nominate their local postal worker to receive the ultimate Christmas thank you package in #TheMagicOfSmallThings campaign: celebrating the small, thoughtful things that make all the difference. The move follows Royal Mail’s Thumbs Up For Your Postie campaign earlier this year, where customers were encouraged to show their appreciation for their postie in a socially distanced way with a friendly thumbs up.

Those who make a nomination will also have the chance to bag one of 5,000 ‘postie packs’ for free – with notonthehighstreet encouraging Brits to ‘reverse post’ the ‘postie pack’ to their postal worker through their letterbox. Each pack contains a chocolate bar made by a small business and an ‘ode to the postie’ and will be available from 10th November until stocks run out. Visit www.notonthehighstreet.com/thank-your-postie to nominate posties, and redeem a postie gift.

Ella d’Amato, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at notonthehighstreet, said: “We’ve been supporting small businesses since 2006, but this year has been like no other in our history as customers have chosen to shop small for more than just gifts. Whether it’s showing a loved one you’re thinking of them or cherishing a cosy moment at home, the UK’s postal workers have been integral in keeping the nation connected and enabling our small businesses to continue trading this year.

It’s this sentiment that will carry the spirit of Christmas in 2020 and why we’ve chosen to celebrate #TheMagicOfSmallThings: the small, thoughtful things that make all the difference. We hope that our free gifts for our much loved posties and unique gifts from the UK’s best small businesses will provide some much needed joy to people this festive season – no matter who they are.”

Singer Ronan Keating, who is working with notonthehighstreet to celebrate UK posties, said: “It’s amazing to see how many people are planning to give a little thanks this Christmas to posties who have been vital in keeping us smiling this year. As we head into the festive season under lockdown, I couldn’t be happier to be helping notonthehighstreet celebrate posties who are going to be busier than ever helping to keep the nation feeling connected.”