Market Trends of North America Postal Services Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the North America Postal Services Market according to our research experts:
eCommerce Opens Opportunities for Postal Services
eCommerce represents a tremendous opportunity to postal services as consumers become increasingly comfortable with ordering items online from emerging eCommerce platforms, as well as traditional brick-and-mortar making the transition to digital environments. As the volume of online sales increases, eCommerce providers are seeking cost-effective channels for the delivery and collection of purchased items. Postal services, with their long-established national networks and experience in last-mile delivery, are emerging as effective partners in this regard.
However, many global postal services organizations are not equipped to take advantage of this growth in eCommerce: while B2C eCommerce is growing at a global rate of 17%, parcel volumes among postal services organizations have been growing at less than 5%. Part of the issue is the low adoption of digital technologies as core business and innovation drivers among low-performing postal services organizations.
Letter Volume is on Decline
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is the official postal service in the US. USPS has experienced a year-on-year decline in mail volume every year since 2006. In 2022, the volume of mail delivered by the USPS dropped to just 127.3 billion units. The reduced volume of traditional mail, marketing materials, and periodicals is behind this decline. However, the revenue generated from shipping packages has actually increased in recent times. Technology is the main factor driving the decline in both traditional mail volumes and the increase in parcel deliveries. On the one hand, a clear and increasing majority of people in the U.S. use email, reducing the need for traditional mail services. Also, the share of U.S. retail sales made online has doubled in just a decade, creating greater demand for package delivery services. The same is the case with the official postal service of Canada, Canada Post.
