Can Amazon.com Save the Post Office? Sunday Delivery a ‘Win-Win’, Macke Says
Earlier this year the United States Postal Service unsuccessfully attempted to end Saturday delivery. Now the struggling postal carrier is doing a 180 and partnering with Amazon.com (AMZN) to deliver goods on Sunday.
The deal between the two entities was announced Sunday and will begin immediately, coinciding nicely with the holiday season. This program will reach New York City and Los Angeles and the surrounding suburbs, but a larger roll-out is expected for next year with Dallas, New Orleans, Houston and Phoenix to be among the cities added to the program.
Related: Post Office Will Not Need a Taxpayer Bailout, If Congress Acts: Postmaster General
The USPS lost nearly $16 billion last year. Package delivery, however, has been profitable for the postal service and the partnership with Amazon might give USPS an advantage over private shipping companies like FedEx (FDX) and UPS (UPS) in the $186 billion e-commerce market. (USPS already delivers on Sundays and holidays for a fee.)
The program will also benefit Amazon Prime members, who pay a $79 annual fee for free two-day shipping and other perks.
“As online shopping continues to increase, the Postal Service is very happy to offer shippers like Amazon the option of having packages delivered on Sunday,” said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe in an official statement, indicating that the Postal Service may have plans to make more Sunday deals with other e-commerce companies.
“The other side of it,” says Yahoo Finance’s Jeff Macke in the video above, “is that Amazon is taking over the world bit by bit and slowly transforming itself every day.”
Most importantly, says Macke, this new initiative will provide extra jobs and hours for U.S. postal workers.
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