Poles are increasingly willing to shop online. The growing e-commerce sector is driving demand for logistics services. In February, Pocztex recorded record sales. Sales of business and bulky parcels – parcel services dedicated to e-commerce – are growing rapidly. The international parcel segment also shows higher sales than a year ago. We most frequently send goods to Germany, England, and the USA.
Convenience and savings are the main reasons for shopping in e-stores. Customers also value how quickly they receive their purchases and information about the status of their shipment.
Poczta Polska is getting stronger in e-commerce
Pocztex, the courier arm of Poczta Polska, has undergone a complete transformation. The company has introduced SMS or email notifications for recipients regarding the dispatch of a shipment and its planned delivery date. As the only logistics provider, it offers delivery by 8 a.m. in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants. Changes in the offer have influenced the results recorded in the courier parcel segment. January and February were record-breaking months – an increase of 70 percent compared to the same months in 2011. Creating a modern Pocztex is one of the elements of Poczta Polska’s strategy, which assumes increasing the company’s potential in the courier services market.
Half a million business parcels sent by the end of February is a record result and confirmation of a very strong upward trend. – Every month, sales of this service grow by 15 percent – says Sławomir Żurawski, Director of the KEP Services Development Office at Poczta Polska. Poczta Polska’s offer is available on the largest auction portals and mail-order stores. Since January, business parcels have been offered as one of the delivery methods in the Merlin.pl online bookstore and on Allegro.pl. Customers using Poczta’s business offer also receive many additional benefits. The recipient is informed via SMS about the upcoming delivery. They can check the status of the parcel online. Thanks to the Electronic Sender service, an application available online, one can quickly prepare larger quantities of shipments for dispatch or easily manage their own database of recipients.
For private individuals and small businesses, Poczta has created the Bulky Parcel (Przesyłka Gabarytowa). The price of this service, for a maximum weight of up to 20 kg, depends solely on the size of the packaging that the customer receives upon purchase. This is a convenience for, e.g., online sellers who know the shipping price in advance.
– In 2012, we recorded several hundred thousand bulky parcels sent. We are dynamically increasing our turnover. In February, we already had over 50,000 shipments. The growing online sales market is an opportunity for us to strengthen our position in the logistics sector for e-commerce – says Sławomir Żurawski from Poczta Polska. – Poczta Polska, through its extensive network of branches, is present in practically every corner of the country.
What do we send most often via Poczta Polska?
In studies conducted by Poczta Polska, customers declare that the vast majority send parcels weighing up to 10 kg. One-third of Poczta’s customers send between 1 and 5 parcels per year through it. Every third person sending parcels at the network of post offices usually sends clothing, books, and documents. Men more often send CDs, movies, books, and computer games, while women lead in the categories of clothing and cosmetics. Among the most frequently mentioned reasons for using the operator’s services were: the largest network of post offices in the country, security and delivery guarantee, favorable price offer, and a modern shipment tracking system.
Germany, England, and the USA – these are where Poles send the most postal parcels
The sale of international postal parcels is also showing an upward trend. Comparing 2012 with 2011, the value of shipments in this category increased by 25%. Poles send the most parcels to Great Britain – this is nearly 15 percent of the total volume of parcels sent by Poczta Polska abroad. Germany is in second place – 14 percent of shipments. The USA is also a popular destination, where Poczta customers sent 12 percent of outgoing parcels last year. Next are Ireland – 5 percent, France – 4 percent, Norway – 3 percent, Italy – 3 percent.
Poczta Polska is a company with entirely Polish capital. It has a network of over 8,300 branches. The company is consistently implementing its development strategy until 2017. Poczta Polska is building a competitive and profitable postal-financial-logistics Capital Group and wants to achieve lasting profitability. The goal is also to improve the quality of services and customer service by offering them, among other things, modern banking-insurance and logistics products in open and friendly branches.