03-01-2018
The record-breaking online sales during the holiday season grew Posti's parcel volume to 37 million postal items in 2017. Parcel volume increased by 9% compared to the previous year.
"During the year, e-commerce picked up and the number of e-commerce parcels grew by more than 15%. Posti provides e-commerce with the most popular ways of receiving postal items together with the most comprehensive and fast delivery network in Finland. We deliver parcels to online store customers also on Saturdays in the capital region, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Seinäjoki and Kuopio," says Toni Laaksonen, Vice President, Parcel Services at Posti.
Posti has ensured the smoothness of deliveries and strengthened its service point network, for instance, by adding more lockers to the Posti parcel locker network and by opening temporary pop-up pickup points for the Christmas season. The number of Posti service points has continued to increase by 40% during the last six years.
Increasing numbers of online stores offer Posti parcel lockers as a delivery type. Posti has more than 1,500 service points, of which 500 are parcel lockers. The number of parcels going through them grew by 42%. Posti will open 1,000 new parcel lockers. The new Smartpost parcel locker service can be ordered for a housing company or office.
In addition to parcel volume, Posti delivered approximately one million letters containing goods per month, mainly sent from Chinese online stores.
Friends and family remembered with millions of Christmas cards
Personal, handwritten Christmas greetings are part of the Finnish Christmas tradition. More than 26 million Christmas cards were sent this year in Finland. The majority of the 3,700 seasonal workers employed by Posti worked in Christmas mail sorting, which is done mainly manually.
Due to an insufficient or incorrect address, approximately 50,000 Christmas greetings needed further address clarification. Christmas cards gone through address clarification will be delivered until early January.
Christmas is Finland's largest card season. Posti has published postage stamps designed for Christmas greetings each year since 1973. Sending cards is also an essential part of Valentine's Day celebrations in February. Stamps celebrating friendship will be released on January 24.
Source: Posti