The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a benchmark of the United States as an institution. A founding construct of the nation present in Article 1 of the US Constitution whereby Congress was given the power to “To establish Post Offices and Post Roads.“
The USPS has made headlines recently as the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, attempts to restructure the postal service causing inefficiencies in mail delivery leading up to the November 3 election. These changes have earned DeJoy a seat testifying before committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
Millions of businesses and individuals rely on the postal service for essential services like medications, social security benefits, and low-cost speedy deliveries that are essential to SMBs. Even large private mail carries rely on USPS for “last mile” deliveries in areas that are too expensive to deliver to for a for-profit organization.
Aside from being a hotly contested political issue, the USPS is a foundation, lifeline, and public service helping connect Americans and giving small businesses the opportunity to reach customers all over the country.
Consumer Trends
Spending: Overview
Source: Deloitte
- Take a look at where shoppers in various countries intend to put their dollars in the coming weeks.
- Fewer people are planning to spend on discretionary categories as the reality of the pandemic continues to set in, safety nets dry up, and job insecurity increases.
Spending: The New Shoppers
Source: Deloitte
- The pandemic has become a catalyst for the growth of a number of different shopping patterns, including stockpiling, cause consciousness, and extended frugality.
Spending: Cash vs Contactless
Source: Dynata
- While many countries are showing a strong preference for contactless payments, the US has remained fairly static at 15% who prefer cash with little change or influence from the pandemic.
Holiday Forecast
Source: eMarketer
- Most shoppers plan to do more than half of their holiday shopping online this year while concerns mount over safety & hygiene, and consumers become largely more price-conscious.
Spotlight: Cord Cutting
Source: Roku
- The majority of US households are moving away from traditional TV packages in favor of subscription media services.
- Drivers for this shift in part are full are cost-cutting, and previously, the lack of live sporting events.
Business Trends
Payments: Contactless
Source: Dynata
- Contactless spending options are growing globally, however, the US has seen the biggest increase with an 8% spike in availability over the course of the pandemic.
B2B Advertising
Source: eMarketer
- B2B ad spend is expected to increase by 22.6% YoY spurred on by massive growth in the healthcare sector of over 40% YoY.
Source: Shippo
- Check where your brand stands in relation to spend on shipping across these categories.
- Identify possible reasons your shipping might be higher and potentially cut out inefficiencies, like unnecessary premium shipping or not optimizing your service level per shipment.
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