Effective August 1, 2022, the Postal Service™ will upgrade service standards for its Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground® products.
Within the contiguous United States, service standards will be accelerated from 2–8 days to 2–5 days for the same affordable price. Items containing hazardous materials or live animals are not eligible for the upgraded service standards.
Under this change, customers will experience faster delivery. In addition to enhancing service and accelerating delivery times, customers will benefit from an affordable, medium-speed, shipping service for packages in excess of 1 pound.
Retail Ground is a ground shipping product for packages, thick envelopes, and tubes (with a maximum weight of 70 pounds) that are not required to be mailed via First-Class Mail® service and are available only through retail channels.
Parcel Select Ground is an economical ground delivery service similar to Retail Ground for commercial shippers.
The Postal Service is aligning the Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground service standards with the current First-Class Package Service® standards within the contiguous United States.
Processing this mail with First-Class Package Service packages will enhance customer service and better optimize the Postal Service’s package processing and surface transportation networks.
“Upgrading service standards for Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground products is another way we are improving delivery for our customers,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. “Offering faster, affordable delivery is how we will become the best in the industry.”
On March 21, 2022, USPS® filed a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for an advisory opinion regarding proposed changes to the service standards for Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground competitive products.
Following a hearing on the record on June 9, 2022, the PRC issued an advisory opinion finding that this change constitutes an improvement in service and therefore generally benefits mailers and is in the public interest.
The PRC made certain recommendations in its opinion, and the Postal Service will, consistent with those recommendations, closely monitor the impacts of the change to ensure it achieves the anticipated operational and customer service benefits.
These service standard changes further the Delivering for America 10-year plan to achieve service excellence, which is defined as meeting or exceeding 95 percent on-time delivery across all product categories, as well as financial sustainability.
— Shipping and Commerce Strategy,
Business Solutions, 7-14-22
