(Direct Newsline) United Parcel Service will test UPS Basic, a no-frills, low-cost service for selected direct marketers starting this month.
“Catalog and online direct would be the primary users of the service,” says UPS spokesperson Susan Rosenberg. “It’s highly customized to larger distribution customers who send packages in the one- to five-pound range. The service is also geared toward residential delivery.”
UPS Basic will deliver packages without any extras, such as tracking and guaranteed delivery day. The carrier hopes the service will help it penetrate the lightweight residential delivery business. The shipping firm also hopes to upsell new customers on its more expensive services.
The program will take advantage of a U.S. Postal Service program, Parcel Select, that offers discounts to companies that sort and deliver items to the post office near to the item’s final destination.