USPS Steps Up Competition for Small Packages With New Option

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has launched a new shipping offering designed to let customers send packages within a delivery window of two to five days across the continental United States.

The new USPS Ground Advantage is a part of the Postal Service’s 10-year “Delivering America” strategy and is expected to provide a new ground shipping option or customers, the industry, and USPS itself, the organization said in a Monday (July 10) press release.

According to Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy, “USPS Ground Advantage is a game changer — for our customers, the industry and USPS. By efficiently and effectively integrating our ground transportation model to the magnificence of our last mile delivery options, we can now offer the most compelling ground shipping offering in the market.”

USPS Ground Advantage is designed to provide customers more reliable, affordable options for package delivery in the continental United States, according to the press release. Customers can expect free package pickup service at home or work, $100 insurance for USPS Ground Advantage and USPS Ground Advantage Return packages, and the option to purchase up to $5,000 in additional coverage.

USPS Ground also lets shippers send packages via domestic ground shipping to all 50 states as well as P.O. boxes, U.S. military bases, territories, and Freely Associated states, the release said.

USPS said in the release, “A new shipping portfolio — comprised of USPS Ground Advantage and USPS Connect Local and Regional — positions USPS to compete very effectively for any package under 25 pounds that can be transported by ground, within a region across states, and across the country.”

The new offering is part of USPS’ drive to take customers from FedEx and UPS at a time when the cost of shipping packages has been rising, customers have been becoming more cost conscious, and the volume of packages being delivered by those competitors has been declining, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday.

FedEx has attributed its decline in package volume to consumers shifting their spending from eCommerce to entertainment and services, Bloomberg reported June 20.