Postal Service Tests Same Day Delivery
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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Postal Service will experiment with a premium same day delivery service this holiday season in San Francisco, in hopes the model could be rolled out to other cities and serve as a revenue booster for the cash-strapped institution.
Teaming up with as many as 10 e-commerce retailers, which have not yet been revealed, the postal service plans to offer Metro Post beginning Dec. 12 in San Francisco.
“With the rapid explosion of e-commerce and our tremendous growth in shipping, we feel Metro Post is a game-changer, allowing the U.S. Postal Service to leverage its vast network serving every American home to deliver this premium service,” spokesperson John Friess wrote in a statement to ABC News.
The cost of the service will be at a rate comparable to competitors, according to postal regulatory filings. Wal-Mart currently offers same day service in select cities, charging a $10 flat rate for qualifying orders.
Consumers opting for same day delivery will have until 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. to place their orders at participating retailers. Postal employees will pick up the merchandise from stores or warehouses and deliver the packages to homes between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., the filing stated.
If successful, the test, which is scheduled to last one year, could bring in between $10 million and $50 million in the San Francisco market.
Even if it is expanded to other cities, the added revenue is still small in comparison with the record $15.9 billion net loss the postal service recorded in the 2012 fiscal year.
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