Are you ready for the upcoming Postal Rate Increase taking effect on January 26, 2020? Check out our downloadable PDF rate comparison chart to help you budget for next year.
Postal Rate Increase Comparison Chart
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Category Archives: Blog With BEB
Happy Thanksgiving
In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, we will be closed on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th.
Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday.
PRC Rejects Proposed F/C Mail Increases
The PRC (Postal Regulatory Commission) has rejected the first-class rate increases that are scheduled to become effective Jan. 26, 2020.
In the Nov. 13 order, the commission stated that the proposed increases are in excess of what a price cap allows and directed the USPS to rework rates that apply to letters, postcards, printed papers and small packets weighing up to 2 kilograms coming into the United States from other countries.
The commission seems confident that the rates can be revamped in time for the planned rate change.
The commission calculated the planned first-class increases at 2.109 percent. This exceeds the 1.933 percent increase that is allowed.
The Postal Service’s board of governors is expected to revisit First-Class Mail prices, and any subsequent filing of revisions with the PRC will occur no later than Dec. 12.
2019 Holiday Mail Cut-Off Dates
Fun Halloween Marketing Campaigns
Check out this fun Halloween Blog by Printsome.com! Click on Frank below for complete videos and details!
5 Amazing 3D PRINTED HOUSE Projects
Check out this video by Cool Gadgets & Stuff on 5 Amazing 3D Printed House Projects!
4 Holiday Digital Marketing Tips – 2019
Leverage Local
If you aren’t using geo targeting with your social media delivery, you’re missing out. In a recent study by Neilsen, a global measurement and data analytics company, showed that buying local had the highest awareness among US consumers. BIA Advisory Services reported that geo-targeted ad sales are expected to reach $32.4 billion in 2021, up from $12.4 billion in 2016.
The 5-Day Weekend – Be Ready For it.
Timing is everything when trying to capture holiday shoppers. The 5-Day weekend is Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday and it accounted for 19.2% of total online retail revenue during last year’s holiday season. Make sure to budget marketing dollars for paid ads during this time period.
Make the Customer Experience Easy & Pleasant
Be sure to test your online purchasing experience. If its not fast and simple and mobile friendly, you’re going to lose sales. Its as simple as that.
Make the Experience Personal
A focus on personalization, both in print and online is more important than ever. According to a report from the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) it found that 63% of surveyed consumers were interested in more personalized recommendations.
Another 64% of respondents were open to sharing personal data in exchange for retail benefits like loyalty points and coupons.
Your clients look to brand as a trusted advisor and are interested in brand-provided tips and suggestions.
USPS Robotic Arm Patent Approved
In August, the USPS was granted a patent for a sorting robot intended to work inside a delivery truck’s freight bay while making deliveries.
The robot will grasp items and move them between storage bins, grouping mail and packages together to be delivered to the same address and shrink wrapping them.
It is suggested that the robotic arm would be able to pass items through a window from the freight bay into the cab of a delivery vehicle to the driver for delivery, and one or more robotic arms could be used in a single vehicle.
The robot outlined in the patent is not complicated. The arm would have some dexterity, commonly seen in today’s manufacturing environment already, but it could replace some of the work generally performed by humans. Most mail and parcels come to a local post office presorted by zip code but must be further grouped by route and address from there. Performing the final phase of this sorting while driving to the delivery point, could cut down on delivery time and labor.
Just because a patent is granted does not mean a technology will ever see the light of day. However, labor has been a source of financial strain for the USPS, so technological solutions are being considered with more weight than in previous times.
The patent states that current methods of delivery are expensive, at least in part due to labor costs. Methods and systems to reduce the human workload along a delivery route are needed to reduce the cost.
Houston Informed Delivery is working!
Great news! Houston Informed Delivery is operational as of this morning, Thursday, 10/3/19!
Where is Houston Informed Delivery?
If you’re part of the estimated 800K+ subscribers to the USPS Informed Delivery program in the Houston metropolitan area, or a marketer utilizing it from other parts of the country, you’re probably wondering where it went?! It’s another casualty of Tropical Storm Imelda, but don’t worry – it will soon be back on track.
The USPS is working on linking the subscribers from the Houston area market to the seven facilities outside of the area that are processing mail since last week after the North Houston facility roof caved in during the storm. (For details on the contingency plan and where your mail is being processed, click here.) We anticipate the uploading of subscribers to be completed by the end of this week.
As soon as the subscribers are linked and Informed Delivery for Houston is fully operational, we’ll be sure to let you know.