In September, the United States Postal Service introduced new, lower rates on Priority Mail service for online retailers. On the surface, the change sounds like good news for ecommerce providers’ holiday shipping programs. But here’s what the USPS’s new rates really mean for online retailers.
Regional carrier OnTrac, announced a new service, DirectPost, which will enable it to provide next-day and two-day ecommerce shipping at postal rates.
Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Patrick R. Donohoe has decided to retire, and will be replaced by Megan J. Brennan, the current chief operating officer of the United States Postal Service. Here’s a look back at Donohoe’s accomplishments with the USPS, and a look at what Brennan brings to the table.
A USPS data breach this fall affected personal information of up to 800,000 current and former employees as well as regulatory groups that oversee it, the agency reported. However no customer credit or debit card information was compromised, and USPS operations were not affected.
With online retailers shipping more products to their customers, the demand for package service has grown. The USPS is adding package delivery on Sundays to prepare for the heavy shipping season.
Want to know which carrier will be open, closed or have changed service this holiday season? This infographic by ShipStation, gives all this information to help retailers get orders and presents out on time.
And while the thought of returns might make a retailer shudder, planning ahead can actually help increase sales long term.
“We have a very structured plan around all we’re trying to do to grow our package business,” said Cliff Rucker, vice president of sales for the USPS. “When you think about it, over one-third of our volume is gone since 2006 on the letter side, so that’s why we see packaging as a growth area.”
FedEx reported Q1 revenue and earnings that beat analyst expectations, and announced plans for 50,000+ seasonal hires to deal with holiday shipping volumes.
Deeping their existing relationship, the U.S. Postal Service last month started a two-month test run of delivering groceries for AmazonFresh in San Francisco.