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Internet Usage Boosts Post Office Revenue

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the forward-progress-not-always-bad dept.

setirw writes "Contrary to popular belief, the New York Times reports that Internet usage has actually boosted the USPS's revenue, instead of decreasing it. It is commonly believed that the rise of the Internet has negatively affected the Postal Service's revenue, since e-mail usage is rapidly superseding snail-mail usage. 'Six years ago, people were pointing at the Internet as the doom and gloom of the Postal Service,' said James Cochrane, manager of USPS package services. However, the widespread usage of e-commerce sites has boosted USPS revenue, since millions of packages are shipped from such sites daily."

5 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. So?.. by Klaidas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think this is obvious without any researches - if we buy stuff on the internet, they ship that stuff.
    What would be interesting is how much less *letters* are now being sent via snail mail

    1. Re:So?.. by Aladrin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't think this is obvious at all. In the last 5 years, I believe I have shipped maybe 2 things from online retailers to myself with USPS. Everything else (and I'm talking dozens of packages) went Fedex or UPS. How many sites even -offer- USPS as a shipping option?

      The only 'obvious' thing that would show an increase would be Netflix/Gamefly/etc. There's a LOT of shipping going on there.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  2. Phishing will push it even further by arivanov · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have an extremely entertaining conversation with one UK bank at the moment.

    The clowns insist on using snail mail to reply to mails sent using their "secure" webmail. They have stated that they do not send emails to customers as a matter of policy and they are forced to stick to it even if this means filling Royal Mail coffers.

    As e-commerce grows there will be more and more cases like this until the end-users start to actively use encrypted/signed email and banks start to require this for communicating with them.

    --
    Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
    http://www.sigsegv.cx/
  3. Re:Who cares? by Jack+Action · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I highly doubt they were scared - considering the quality of service I receive in downtown Philly - job security is not an issue.

    Unlike the quality of service one receives when dealing with ecommerce sites on the internet.

    If I had to chose between script-reading or even non-existent ecommerce help, or a surly postal clerk -- bring on the surly 45 year old with the beer gut.

  4. To quote a famous man... by MWelchUK · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
    - Alexander Graham Bell

    It seems the post office are one of the few places that have found another open door rather than litigating to have the closed door forced open.