Customers who order from Amazon will now be able to collect their parcels from one of 10,500 local Post Office branches.

The online retail giant today announced that it has signed up to Royal Mail's Local Collect service, expanding its pick-up points across the UK to more than 16,000.

Customers can select their chosen pick-up location and present ID at the branch to collect their parcel. A First Class delivery charge will apply.

Christopher North, managing director of Amazon.co.uk Ltd said the arrangement will make the process of ordering and collecting an item more convenient.

"Pick-up Locations have become the delivery method of choice for many shoppers," he said.

"Offering the collection of packages from Post Offices is another great way of providing our customers with the highest levels of convenience."

Amazon users can already use Pass My Parcel stores, Collect+ stores and Amazon Lockers to collect their orders.

Last week Royal Mail revealed a drop in half-year profits, after warning that the UK parcels market will grow by much less than expected over the next two years due to the impact of Amazon's increased use of its own network for deliveries.

The company said it believes the impact of Amazon starting its own delivery network will reduce the annual rate of growth in the UK parcels market from a medium term target of 4% to as little as 1% for the next two years.

Royal Mail said: "Additional capacity in the market has contributed to increasing price pressure as other players seek to fill their networks.