U.S. Postal Service Testing Same-Day Delivery, Helping E-Retailers Before Holidays

From its' inception in 1792, the United States Postal Service has always provided mailing services to millions, but never on the same day. With the latest financial crisis due to a lower consumer use of small mail, the USPS looks for a new strategy to develop sales growth and they may have found it.

The US Postal Service filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission they will begin testing same-day delivery for e-retailers beginning in November reported the Internet Retailer last week. The service is going to be tested with certain e-retailers around November 12th, which is right before the holiday rush. The USPS stated, "The volume of packages continues to grow along with the growth in e-commerce. Providing this service is a way for us to help increase revenue by increasing our package business and also provide better, faster service for our customers." This was the one element of the Postal Service that deterred most consumers with quicker delivery demands.

The USPS will be helping e-retailers delivery their products during the testing period between 4pm and 8pm. The online orders from participating e-retailers will be made between 2pm and 3pm that day, then delivered by the Postal Service. The price of the same-day service will be determined by each of the e-retailers. To be one of their participating e-retailers, the company must have at least 10 physical locations nationwide and at least one location within the metro post.

The exploring of a new course to generates sales comes after the company reached its'$15 billion borrowing limit from Congress. The Postal Service is facing insolvency by next spring and is desperately in need of the government to step in to assistance. Their cash reserves are low. Although regular mail sending has declined, they are expecting for the increase of holiday mail to keep their employees and contractors paid. It is no coincidence the USPS has turned to seeking after same-day delivery to increase their revenue.

Many large companies are currently performing various types of testing of same-day delivery in San Francisco as well as other cities in the US. EBay began testing their same-day deliveries earlier this year with e-retailers such as Macy's, Target, and Best Buy. Amazon has increased building of their order fulfillment centers, foregoing their sales tax break. Many experts believe the online giant is setting up itself to perform same-day delivery nationwide. Even Wal-Mart has weighed in, which already performs same-day delivery in China and testing the service in several US markets like Philadelphia and San Jose as well.

Same-day delivery has become a reality in e-commerce now. Any company engaging in online business is going to need same-day delivery of its' products to compete. A company does not have to have the capability to perform the deliveries themselves. Your business can utilize a courier to perform same-day deliveries for you. Nationwide couriers such as A-1 Express can assist any company to meet their online demand and delivery their products door-to-door. A-1 Express can quickly implement a courier solution to delivery your products fast! With the USPS getting involved in same-day deliveries, e-retailing is definitely changing and a courier can help your company change as well.

References: 10.17.12, www.internetretailer.com, U.S. Postal Service will test same-day delivery for e-retailers