This year has been eventful for the postal industry. Several postal companies have been gearing up for the busy festive season. Here are a few trends for the postal sector to take us into 2024.
E-commerce in focus for postal industry
The sector is becoming ever popular as people look to order online. Mordor Intelligence supports this with its finding. The report adds consumers are looking for cost-effective ways of delivering and collecting parcels. In addition, the growth in e-commerce has resulted in huge volumes of packages.
Throughout 2023 there were some major developments in the e-commerce industry which contributed to the postal industry:
- Parcel carrier Yodel and online platform Vinted will assist fashion lovers to receive items faster. Sellers list fashion items on the Vinted platform, sell it to a buyer, and then ship it.
- Low-cost e-commerce company Temu is expanding its delivery network in Europe’s lucrative fashion market.
A report on the future of Post by the Escher Group states the vast majority of postal leaders (84%) say e-commerce will impact their business over the next five years.
Investing in delivery for the postal industry
The Escher Group also indicates that the postal industry can expect more investment in key areas of the delivery network.
In 2023, there were several stories illustrating the postal service moving with the times.
- FedEx launched picture-proof delivery. This is to assure customers that a package will indeed arrive at their doorstep.
- Australia Post (AusPost) digitized its delivery notifications. It also says that the new digital notifications would reduce paper waste, offering customers greater convenience, reliability, and flexibility when planning their parcel pickups while away from home.
Zoom2u gives some insight into trends for courier services in 2024 which include autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and sustainability.
The postal industry cannot forget about last mile either. Locate2u has published a number of stories in 2023 that look at this all-important factor in the postal industry.
- Last-mile delivery market is expected to reach $166 billion in 2027.
- UK’s Speedy Freight launches tailor-made parcel service.
Automation in the postal industry
Companies like UPS are using robotics to help with its throughput. Could 2024 see some rise in automation in the global postal industry? The parcel giant has robotics assisting with repetitive tasks.
Mordor Intelligence reports North America will dominate the postal automation space in the next three years.
The postal industry globally seems to be heading in a great direction. From investing in delivery, innovation and automation, industry players are set for even more developments in 2024.
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About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
