BALTIMORE — The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) today recognized Vermont Country Store for innovation and industry best practices, one out of 14 companies total nationwide. The award was presented on the final day of the National Postal Forum, the largest annual trade show in the country for the mailing industry, which was held this year in Baltimore.
There were two winners in each of the Postal Service’s seven geographic Areas across the nation. The USPS Area awards were presented to customers in two categories: the Mailing Innovation and Digital Award, recognizing customers who demonstrate creativity by finding new methods to use the mail to drive significant business results and mail growth; and the Shipping and eCommerce Innovation Award, honoring customers who have used industry best practices to implement new technologies to maximize efficiencies, and to convert requests for purchase and fulfillment into package volume reflecting significant business results.
Vermont Country Store received the Northeast Area Shipping and eCommerce Innovation Award.
Vermont Country Store is a family-owned business based in Manchester, VT. It offers a wide variety of every day, practical, and hard-to-find items that the company sells through authorized resellers and ecommerce web-based platforms. After the 2008 economic crisis, the Vermont Country Store recognized the challenges facing its catalog mailing. The company used this to present a value proposition opportunity to leverage mobile optimization as a way to increase financial performance, consumer experience, and enhance the brand.
In order to utilize and understand mobile optimization, the Vermont Country Store partnered with the Postal Service to begin its research. The company decided to move forward with a fully mobilized and optimized website to provide customers with a seamless purchasing experience. The company measured a lift in conversion rate with ecommerce shoppers that was facilitated by meeting the Postal Service’s Mobile Shopping promotion eligibility requirements of mobile optimizations. After recognizing the success of mobile optimization, the Vermont Country Store continues to adopt digital integration with its catalog mailings and incorporate augmented reality to drive brand awareness and revenue.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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