C-store retailers could benefit from ongoing industrial action at Royal Mail by providing a service in their store, according to parcel collection service Collect+.

"Consumers are looking for contingency plans when it comes to parcel delivery, especially with Christmas approaching, and retailers can capitalise," said Walter Blackwood, managing director of Collect+, a joint venture between PayPoint and the Home Delivery Network.

"We are delighted to be able to pick up the slack created by the recent strikes while also bringing people into convenience stores."

Blackwood said that parcel deliveries had increased in the past few weeks and that its network had almost tripled in the past six months.

Independent retailer Dave Newman of Westhill Stores, Hastings, East Sussex, is not a Collect+ member but sees his similar parcel collection service as another way to get involved in the community.

"My customers will often get parcels sent to my store. It's just another service for the neighbourhood," he said.