More British companies are starting to use competitors to Royal Mail two years after full marketliberalisation but total mail volumes are falling as electronic communications grow, according to
the latest research by the British postal regulator, Postcomm.In its annual Business Customer Survey, Postcomm found that one in five small and mediummailers and more than a third of large mailers are using more than one mail provider. This meantthat liberalisation was starting to benefit more and more mail users, the authority said in astatement. The survey also revealed that competition has improved choice and more than a thirdbelieve competition has improved Royal Mail’s quality of service.
Mail volumes collected and sorted by private competitors and then delivered by Royal Mailunder ‘access’ agreements for “final mile” delivery have more than doubled and now represent 19 %of revenue-derived mail volumes, Postcomm said. Due to the absence of alternative deliverynetworks, however, end-to-end competition has declined by four million items and stands at lessthan 1 % of total mail volume.
Meanwhile, one in five respondents in the Postcomm survey have moved some of their mail toother media such as e-mail during the past year. Overall mail volumes dropped 2% in 2007, accordingto the annual Competitive Market Review, although direct mail was growing in some sectors. Thistrend confirmed the need for all postal operators to place more emphasis on customer service andinnovation, Postcomm commented.
All in all, Postcomm believes one key to the success of mail as a medium is to focus ongetting more value into the product through innovation which can enable the sender to generate morerevenue or provide greater satisfaction for the recipient.
