The Holidays Are Full Steam, and so is the Busy U.S. Postal Season

In response to more consumers doing holiday shopping online, the demand for package services with the USPS has achieved record-breaking growth. The ease of online shopping and the convenience are both appealing for businesses and general consumers who don’t want to battle crowds at the mall. Ecommerce sites and online retailers have contributed to the US Postal Service’s 12% growth in services, which equals to four hundred-fifty to four hundred-seventy million (450–470,000,000) packages by the end of the 2014 season.

USPS Delivering 7-Days a Week During 2014 Holidays

To keep up with this demand, the USPS has decided to offer seven day package delivery services in the larger, metropolitan cities within the U.S. Those with the most volume and population can expect to see their mail delivery driver – or a sub – on Sunday, which was a service that began on November 17, 2014. The Sunday USPS delivery schedule will operate through Christmas Day to meet these demands.

If you wish to mail something internationally, you only have a day or two left to do so. Although there is an off-chance that it could arrive by Christmas, it is best to follow these USPS holiday shipping and mailing deadlines:

• December 10: International Express Priority
• December 15: Standard Post
• December 17: Guaranteed Global Express
• December 20: Priority Mail or Domestic First-Class Mail
• December 23: Express Priority (Within US)

If you want to save time, you may opt for using a postage meter to make your mailings even more efficient. Especially companies whose livelihood depends upon holiday orders, such as online retailers, marketing agencies that do mailings for clients, media, drop shippers and more. A postage meter can truly make your shipping processes more streamlined and will also save a lot of money in postage, since the US Postal Services typically gives medium to high volume shippers a discount over those who opt for the post office visit.

While you’re at it, make sure you have enough postage meter ink to keep your postage meter flowing smoothly. It would be a shame to run out of postage meter ink at such a critical time; just when you are ready to send out a massive holiday promotion or send a box to a customer who needs it in time to give as a Christmas gift.

If you do frequent large-volume mailings, you may also want to consider an envelope sealer. An envelope sealer is a great gadget and can be a lifesaver for a bulk mailing.

Happy Holidays from Roar Postal Supplies!