Home parcel deliveries are booming in Finland as consumers make more online purchases, and highgrowth rates look set to continue, according to a survey commissioned by Finland Post.
The annual number of parcels received by Finns totals 27 million, with the number of parcelssent as letter mail accounting for some 10 million. The survey, designed to assess future 2C parceltrends, found that consumer parcel volumes look likely to increase about 9% this year.
The robust growth displayed by the European consumer parcel market in recent years, spurredby increasing online shopping, would thus now seem to be in the offing in Finland. In this respect,men, residents in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and young people aged 15–24 showed the greatestexpectations for growth.
Although most Finns still prefer to collect their parcels from their nearest post office,home delivery is becoming increasingly popular, particularly due to online shopping. In 2006,Finland Post’s Home Delivery service grew by 60%, and the growth rate for the first few months of2007 was even higher, the postal group said.
The internet has become the most popular channel for orders in distance selling, overtakingconventional order forms and telephone orders. However, before placing an order, consumers usevarious channels in an effort to receive information on products.
Through the Post’s Home Delivery service, the addressee receives a phone call to agree on thedelivery time, which is from Monday to Friday between 9am and 9pm throughout the country. The Post’s home delivery network covers all 2.4 million households in Finland. Several supplementary servicesare available for home deliveries, such as installation and recycling services.
The Finland Post network covers over 1,200 post offices and sub post offices.
