Download the 2020 IPC Global Postal Industry Report Key Findings report here.
Parcels growth and diversification offset mail volume declines
On aggregate, total postal industry revenue reached €427.2bn in 2019, up €6.3bn on 2018 results. Parcels and express remained the engine of postal growth, up €6.6bn.Mail revenue grew €0.3bn as structural volume declines were offset by rate increases and growth in lightweight packets. As core mail volumes continue to decline worldwide, posts have looked to diversify their sources of revenue. Mail accounted for just under a third of total industry revenue in 2019.
Covid-19 set to accelerate e-commerce growth
The retail landscape is rapidly evolving. Global e-commerce sales have grown by over 20% per year on average since 2009 and reached €1.8tn in 2019. Before the pandemic, global online sales were predicted to roughly double between 2019 and 2024, but recent trends suggest the COVID-19 crisis will pull this timeline forward.
Posts show resilience during the COVID-19 crisis
With citizens at home and retailers putting up the shutters, e-commerce rocketed during lockdowns. Posts quickly adapted their networks to deliver the unexpected spike in volume which, in many countries, was higher and much more sustained than any previous peak. Posts also reported other key trends during the crisis: B2C deliveries increased across most product segments, from grocery to garden, though trends shifted as lockdowns evolved; local SMEs sent more parcels; deliveries to the home increased; and postal webshops saw online sales rise as footfall in post offices fell.
Want to know more? The full version of the IPC Global Postal Industry Report 2020 includes over 140 pages of industry and operator analyses. The report is available to IPC members for free, and is also available for purchase by non-members. A full table of contents, as well as further details on how to purchase the report, are available here.