Metro Post. In FY2013, the Postal Service began a year-long test of a new Metro Post service. Metro Post is a same-day delivery service designed to improve the experience of customers shopping on e-commerce sites. During the market test, Metro Post is being offered at select retailers within San Francisco, CA. It is available to all residential addresses in the San Francisco area. It is not available to business and P.O. Box addresses. Metro Post launched with a strategic alliance with leading online florist and gift shop retailer 1-800-Flowers.com. Metro Post is available for purchases from four 1-800-Flowers.com brands, including popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory, cookies, and baked items from Cheryl’s; premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May fine chocolates; and gift baskets and towers from 1-800-Baskets.com. Consumers in San Francisco can use Metro Post premium service online or in person at a retail store that carries the participating companies’ branded gift item. The daily deadline for a purchase to be delivered by Metro Post is 2 p.m. Deliveries will take place between 4 and 8 p.m. the same day. Since the launch with 1-800-Flowers.com, 9 additional retailers have signed on to use the service.
Package Simplification. On July 28, the Postal Service streamlined its expedited product lineup to build on its strong Priority Mail brand and provide customers with day-specific delivery information for their shipping. This effort included several name changes: Express Mail was renamed Priority Mail Express, Express Mail International was renamed Priority Mail Express International and Express Mail Corporate Account was changed to USPS Corporate Account. All characteristics of the former Express Mail service remain under the new name, including up to $100 insurance coverage included in the price.
For both Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail, the Postal Service now provides information about day-specific delivery — 1-Day, 2-Day, 3-Day, Military or Diplomatic Post Office — on customer receipts and at usps.com. The Postal Service also received approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission to automatically include insurance — at no additional charge — for domestic Priority Mail shipments. Customers receive $50 or $100 of insurance coverage, depending on the postage payment method used and trackable barcode. Along with these enhancements, expedited packaging supplies were redesigned to highlight product features, such as USPS Tracking™ and free Package Pickup.
Parcel Post Transitions to Standard Post. Parcel Post, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on January 1, transitioned to Standard Post effective January 27. It also moved from the market-dominant product category to the competitive product category mostly to assist in meeting cost coverage and to better align with competitors’ products. Standard Post now is a retail offering only. Customers are not able to select Standard Post on the postage statement and it is not available through PC Postage vendors, who offer Parcel Select Nonpresort and is the commercial equivalent ground product offering. Prices increased an average of 21 percent. USPS Tracking is included in all retail purchases of Standard Post at no additional charge to the customer. (On Jan. 27, USPS Tracking also was included for Priority Mail service purchased at retail.) Service standards and guidelines remain the same, as do Extra Services available. Although Standard Post is no longer classified under the “Package Services” umbrella, it remains a ground shipping product.
With the transition of Standard Post to competitive, Alaska Bypass Service was added to the market-dominant product list under Package Services.
Package Pickup Enhancements. During FY2013, USPS picked up a total 113.3 million packages from customers and introduced a number of enhancements to our Package Pickup program. As a result of these efforts, customers now can order expedited packaging supplies at the time of a pickup request made through the Package Pickup application, or through The Postal Store at usps.com. Supplies will be delivered in 1-2 days by the local Post Office. Customers also can bundle their pickup requests and modify or cancel recurring requests as a grouping. A 12-month visual calendar allows shippers to highlight the days of scheduled recurring pickup requests, giving them an illustrated view of their activity. It also enables pickups to be scheduled up to one year in advance. In additional enhancements, an estimated pickup window now provides customers with an anticipated time of pickup, and the Postal Service has automated the process for validating address files for large commercial customers and can assist with onboarding new customers within 24–48 hours.
