This fall, USPS.com® will release several enhancements and new applications to the website. These include a new Multilingual option to view pages in Spanish and Simplified Chinese; the addition of PayPal for Click-N-Ship® users; a new Premium Forwarding Service® application; and the redesign of Hold Mail, Redelivery, and PO Locator applications. In addition, these services will be integrated into the customer’s account allowing one centralized place to access all activity.
The following features and enhancements launched on October 3, 2011:
n Multilingual (New) (see Exhibit A, page 5) is all new to USPS.com. Users will now have the option of browsing USPS products in Spanish and Simplified Chinese. Other applications and content will be translated in future releases.
n Hold Mail has been redesigned to provide an improved customer experience by allowing customers to submit a Hold Mail request up to 30 days prior to the hold mail ‘start’ date. In addition, users will have the convenience of integration with Address Book and Activity History (My Account) that will provide pre-populated fields.
n Redelivery has been redesigned to a more streamlined process and is integrated with customer account information, decreasing the steps to complete when submitting a redelivery request by pre-populating some required fields.
n Carrier Pickup™ has been redesigned and integrated with Address Book and Account History to simplify request process for customers by pre-populating fields.
The following features and enhancements will launch later this fall:
n The Postal Store® (see Exhibit B, page 6) will be redesigned giving it an updated look and feel and streamlining the shopping and buying experience. Purchase activity and customer subscriptions are now integrated into ‘My Account’, providing a central location for all activities.
n Personalized Stamped Envelopes will be redesigned to provide a new design interface allowing users to create and order envelopes right from their desktop.
n Premium Forwarding Service® (PFS) (New) (see Exhibit C, page 6) is a service where customers may request their local Post Office to collect their mail and reship it to another location once a week. Customers who apply for PFS online will enjoy access to new functionality including account authentication, pre-population of registration information, the ability to update registration information, and use of Address Book. Customers may also manage their PFS requests online and will no longer have to go to the Post Office to enroll.
n PayPal (New) will be available as a payment option within Click-N-Ship service on USPS.com. PayPal acts like a digital wallet where payment options such as bank account and credit card numbers are securely stored. Customers will simply click the PayPal checkout button, log into their PayPal account, and pay without leaving the USPS.com site. PayPal completes the payment process securely without sharing information with merchants and sellers.
n PO Locator (see Exhibit D, page 7) will be redesigned to help customers find where available services are offered in proximity of their location, based on the customer’s needs. For example, customers will be able to search for retail locations with 24-hour access, alternate locations, and Village Post Offices.
For more information on these and other enhancements go to www.usps.com/newwebsite.htm.
This field information kit has been prepared to help employees understand and communicate these changes to customers. Please take a moment to review the stand-up talks and FAQs to become familiar with these important changes.
Exhibit A, Multilingual Option
Exhibit B, The Postal Store
Exhibit C, Premium Forwarding Service
Exhibit D, PO Locator
Stand-Up Talk for All Employees
USPS.com has new and enhanced features and applications coming this fall.
Now Available on USPS.com
n A new Multilingual option allows customers to view webpages in Spanish and Simplified Chinese.
n An enhanced ‘My Account’ offers customers the convenience of viewing their global activity history.
n The Hold Mail application has been redesigned to allow customers to submit their request up to 30-days prior to the start date of the request (instead of the current 14 days).
n The Redelivery application has been redesigned and integrated with the Product Tracking System and Address Book to simplify the process for customers by pre-populating fields.
n The Carrier Pickup Application has been redesigned and integrated with Address Book and Account History to simplify the process for customers by pre-populating fields.
Coming Later This Fall
n The Postal Store will be redesigned to improve the customer shopping experience, and to offer the ability for cross-sells and upsells. Personalized Stamp Envelopes will also be improved to allow customers to view their envelope throughout the process.
n PayPal will be offered as a payment option for customers via Click-N-Ship service.
n Premium Forwarding Service will be offered online — no need for customers to go to the Post Office™ to enroll, modify, or cancel their request.
n PO Locator Application will be redesigned to offer customers the ability to search numerous location types and services according to the location type selected
n And, coming in early 2012, a redesigned Click-N-Ship application!
These new applications and features follow the successful launch of the website redesign in July, which provided the framework for these improvements. The redesign created two distinct sites: About.usps.com, which houses all our corporate information and USPS.com, the transactional or eCommerce site. These changes allow customers to easily complete their online tasks and access a more consolidated view of their activity history.
And that’s not all — there are more website enhancements coming next spring!
Stand-Up Talk for Retail and Delivery Personnel
What’s new?
n A Multilingual option allows customers to view webpages in Spanish and Simplified Chinese.
n Enhanced ‘My Account’ offers customers the convenience of viewing their global activity history.
What is changing?
n The Hold Mail application has been redesigned to allow customers to submit their request up to 30-days prior to the start date of the request (instead of the current 14 days).
n The Redelivery application has been redesigned and integrated with the Product Tracking System and Address Book to simplify the process for customers by pre-populating fields.
n The Carrier Pickup Application has been redesigned and integrated with Address Book and Account History to simplify the process for customers by pre-populating fields.
n The Postal Store will be redesigned to improve the customer shopping experience, and offer the ability for cross-sells and upsells. Personalized Stamp Envelopes will also be improved to allow customers to view their envelope throughout the process.
What Else Is Coming?
n PayPal will be offered as a payment option for customers via Click-N-Ship service.
n Premium Forwarding Service will be offered online — no need for customers to go to the Post Office to enroll, modify, or cancel their request.
n PO Locator Application will be redesigned to offer customers the ability to search numerous location types and services according to the location type selected
n And, coming in early 2012, a redesigned Click-N-Ship application!
These new applications and features follow a successful launch of the website redesign in July, which provided the framework for these improvements. Customers will be able to easily complete their online tasks and access a more consolidated view of their activity history.
What does it mean to me?
The Postal Service is changing to meet the evolving needs of our customers.
That is good news for you and your customers!
What do I tell my customers?
Tell your customers about these enhancements. Ask if they have used our online services. If not, encourage them to check out USPS.com.
And there’s more to come! Stay tuned for more website enhancements coming next year!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Overall, what is new about the redesigned USPS.com?
A. The website has been redesigned to help customers do business with us more easily. This includes navigation that helps customers take action — whether they want to ship, send mail, manage their mail, or shop. “Quick Tools” appear on every page of the transactional site to keep the most popular functions on USPS.com at customers’ fingertips. There’s also an updated look and feel and a streamlined account signup.
Q. Why are we changing USPS.com?
A. To improve the customer experience for households and small and medium-sized businesses (convenient, simple, consistent), to grow revenue (introduce new services to the web and be the preferred option against competitors), and to reduce costs (migrate transactions to lower cost channels).
Q. What are “Quick Tools?”
A. “Quick Tools” are the most frequently used applications on USPS.com that allow you to perform specific tasks such as Track and Confirm, Find a Post Office, Calculate a Price, and Look up ZIP Code.
Q. What is about.usps.com?
A. About.usps.com is a newly designed site separate from USPS.com that is designed to help customers find information about USPS more easily. It will contain corporate information such as press releases, annual reports, career information, and publications. It will be easily accessible from every page on www.usps.com via a link on the bottom of every page, similar to other websites.
Q. Can I still buy stamps at USPS.com?
A. Yes, you will still be able to purchase stamps through The Postal Store now found under the “Shop” link in the top navigation.
Q. Will I be able to print a shipping label?
A. Yes, Click-N-Ship service will still be available to create, manage, and print shipping labels, and will be found under the “Ship a Package” link in the top navigation.
Q. Will I be able to manage my mail (i.e., Hold Mail, Forward Mail, Change Address, and Schedule a Redelivery)?
A. Yes these applications have been redesigned to be more intuitive and to streamline the process. These and other services are found under the “Manage Your Mail” link in the top navigation.
New PayPal Payment Option
Q. What is PayPal?
A. PayPal is a service that enables you to pay for goods and services without revealing your financial information to merchants.
Q. What can I buy with PayPal on USPS.com?
A. You can now use PayPal to pay for Click-N-Ship labels. We hope to expand this option to other parts of the site in future releases.
Q. How do I pay for Click-N-Ship (CNS) labels with PayPal?
A. In your Click-N-Ship account, create the shipping labels you desire. When you are ready to check out, choose the PayPal button as your payment option. Click-N-Ship will direct you to log in to your PayPal account. To do this, simply enter your e-mail address and password and the payment will be processed without sharing any of your financial details.
Q. Is paying with PayPal just as fast as using my credit card?
A. Yes. You just need to enter your e-mail address and password to pay with PayPal.
New Multilingual Option
Q. What additional languages are offered on USPS.com?
A. USPS.com will be available in Spanish and Simplified Chinese. More languages will be offered in the future.
Q. How do I select a language?
A. To select a language, hover over the drop-down language selection in the grey header in the top far left of the page. Each time you visit USPS.com, the drop-down selection in the header will default to “English”. Select your preferred language to see the page displayed in that language. You can change your language for that page and USPS browsing session by performing the same action.
Q. What pages of the USPS.com website are available to be viewed in Spanish and Chinese?
A. All Product/Service description pages as well as all FAQs, many advertisements, and applications like Look Up a ZIP Code and Track and Confirm. Other applications and content will be translated in the future releases.
Enhanced “My Account”
Q. What is the enhanced “My Account”?
A. USPS.com is using a new eCommerce platform that will improve the customer’s online experience. It provides customers the ability to view their global activity history.
Hold Mail Redesign
Q. What is new for Hold Mail?
A. The main change to Hold Mail is the ability for customers to submit their request up to 30 days prior to the ‘start’ date instead of the current 14 days. Also, the Hold Mail application will be integrated with Address Book and Activity History making the process easier to complete through pre-population of fields.
Redelivery Application Redesign
Q. What is new for Redelivery?
A. The Redelivery application has been redesigned and is integrated with Customer Registration, Activity History, and the Product Tracking System to simplify the request process for customers by pre-populating fields.
Carrier Pickup Application Redesign
Q. What is new for Carrier Pickup?
A. The Carrier Pickup application has been redesigned and is now integrated with Address Book and Activity History. This will simplify the process for customers by pre-population of fields.
New Premium Forwarding Service (Coming Soon)
Q. What is Premium Forwarding Service?
A. Premium Forwarding Service is a service where customers may request their local Post Office to collect their mail and reship to another location once a week.
Q. Will customers be able to enroll online for Premium Forwarding Service?
A. Yes. Customers will soon be able to complete Premium Forwarding Service enrollment online — without going to the Post Office. Customers will also be able to modify or cancel their request from their desktop.
The Postal Store/Personalized Stamped Envelopes Redesign (Coming Soon)
Q. What is changing about The Postal Store?
A. The Postal Store will be redesigned with a new “look and feel” to improve the customer experience. It will offer the ability for cross-selling and upselling and will lay the groundwork for future enhancements.
Q. What are the changes for Personalized Stamped Envelopes?
A. The Personalized Stamped Envelopes application will be redesigned to allow customers to add multiple orders to the same shopping cart and to view an image of their envelope throughout the entire process. Customers will also be able to enter special characters (without calling the 1-800 line) and use ‘Address Book’ to select the return address.
PO Locator Redesign (Coming Soon)
Q. What is changing about the PO Locator?
A. The application will be in-house instead of being offered by a third-party. Also, PO Locator will offer search capability to numerous location types and to more services.
To learn more about these changes, go to www.usps.com/newwebsite.htm.
— Digital Access,
Channel Access, 10-6-11
