The Postal Service offers services through a network consisting of nearly 32,000 Post Offices, stations, and branches, plus thousands of Contract Postal Units, Community Post Offices, Village Post Offices, retail establishments that sell postage stamps and other services as a convenience to customers, as well as their website, www.usps.com.

With FedEx and UPS as well as regional and local delivery companies as primary competitors, the package delivery business is intensely competitive and is likely to remain so. The Postal Service noted a strategy in their five-year Business Plan to identify and build innovative capabilities that enable future revenue growth opportunities. Currently, customers can present parcels at retail counters and use cash, credit, and debit cards for payment. We would like to identify possible payment technologies and strategies to enhance revenue growth in the Postal Service’s shipping and package services that would be more convenient to the individual consumer.

What do you think?

– On average, how often do you use the Postal Service’s shipping and package services?
– Would the availability of innovative payment methods make it more convenient to use the Postal Service for all of your shipping and package services needs?
– Can you identify specific payment methods that would help meet your mailing needs or increase the use of the Postal Service due to its convenience?
– If you are not a frequent shipper, does payment methods or the convenience of payment influence your usage?

Start Date:
Friday, April 18, 2014
Estimated Report Date:
Friday, September 12, 2014

via Parcel Payment Technologies and Payment Strategies – Finance | Office of Inspector General.