The week that was: 23 November 2012
Rounding up the biggest stories of the week on Post&Parcel, including pricing problems for USPS, the problem of dog attacks in the UK, and the latest ecommerce trends…
USPS told to rethink Standard Mail Flats prices
US regulators demanded that the US Postal Service go back and have another think about proposals for Standard Mail Flats prices next year.
Other than the Standard Mail Flats product, which covers flat-shaped items like catalogues, the Commission did approve USPS price proposals for market-dominant (monopoly) products on Friday, with price changes to take affect from 27th January, 2013.
The market-dominant rates will average a 2.57% increase, as limited by the Postal Service’s inflation-linked annual price cap.
Royal Mail promises tougher approach to dog attacks
Sir Gordon Langley’s inquiry on dog attacks against postal workers in the UK said the problem “is a serious public safety issue which merits urgent attention”.
Last year there were 3,251 reported dog attacks on postal workers in the UK – a decline on previous years, but still averaging more than 10 attacks per day as postmen and women deliver mail six days per week to 28m addresses.
Royal Mail said it would follow up the Langley recommendations for it to do more to take legal action when its staff were subjected to dog attacks.
British Internet shoppers want cheap, reliable delivery
The two most important aspects of getting home delivery right in the UK continues to be keeping the cost down, and ensuring that items arrive when promised, according to the latest annual survey by carrier Hermes UK.
The study charted some interesting trends like the increasing proportion of female shoppers, the increasing online purchasing of clothes and larger items and the fact that shoppers no longer have a particular preference for certain days.
But at the heart of the user experience, the overall conclusion was that reliability and cost trumps everything else for UK shoppers when it comes to delivery – more important than speed of delivery, text message notifications, the ability to deliver in the evening or even the presence of a good tracking system.
