Respondents were asked to specify what improvements they would most like to see in the postal services available to them.
The most frequently mentioned improvements from consumers were faster delivery (23%), cheaper prices (13%), earlier delivery to home or premises (11%), less lost mail (11%) and reduced queuing times at post offices (11%). One in seven consumers (14%) specifically mentioned they were happy with the services provided to them and 12% did not mention any improvements. Vulnerable consumers were less likely than the non-vulnerable to suggest improvements. Under 35 year olds were particularly likely to want to see faster delivery and it was the 35–54 year olds who were most likely to feel that prices should be cheaper.
Improvements mentioned by businesses were consistent with those mentioned by consumers. One in three business respondents (34%) said they would like to see faster delivery (36% of SMEs versus 32% of large businesses). Other improvements mentioned included cheaper prices (21%, but 22% of SMEs and 19% of large businesses), earlier delivery to premises (13%) and less lost mail (13%). One in six business respondents (17%) was happy with the services currently provided, but larger businesses were more likely to be happy with the service and perhaps enjoy a higher quality of service than SMEs. One in five (20%) of large businesses said they were happy and 11% could not suggest any improvements, compared with 16% and 6% respectively for SMEs.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% wit h o u t d ire ct m ai l wi th d ir ect m ai l wit h o u t d ire ct m ai l wi th d ir ect m ai l wit h o u t d ire ct m ai l wi th d ir ect m ai l wit h o u t d ire ct m ai l wi th d ir ect m ai l
Domestic and cross-border shipping in years 2006-2009
according to volumes
Alternative Operators Posta Polska
2008
RAND Europe Postal service preferences for customers in
Accent Italy, Poland and Sweden
Swiss Economics
There were notable differences in improvements suggested by country. Almost two in five consumers in Italy (37%) would like to see faster delivery, compared with 28% of those in Poland and just 4% of those in Sweden. The figures for Sweden and Italy are consistent with the incumbent product structure: Posten AB (Sweden) offers a J+1 product, whereas Poste Italiane (Italy) does not. The results for Poland are more unexpected, as here a J+1 product is offered as well. However, published quality of service data shows that in Poland in 2010 just 53.4% of priority mail was delivered in J+1 whereas the corresponding figure in Sweden in 2010 was 93.7% by J+1.1819 When asked about time of delivery, 21% of
those in Italy suggested they would like earlier delivery to their home or premises, compared with just 6% of those in Sweden and 4% of those in Poland.
For consumers in Sweden, the most frequently mentioned improvements were: - a closer post office (10%)
- cheaper prices (8%)
- earlier delivery to home or premises (6%)
- more post offices available – against closures (6%)
- more and larger mailboxes, more conveniently located (6%).
The interest in closer post offices by Swedes is likely because of the more rural nature of the population (21% living in predominantly urban areas in Sweden compared with 28% in Poland and 35% in Italy – see Table 3.15). In Sweden, cheaper prices were much less likely to be mentioned than in the other two countries – again this coincides with data on perceptions of the affordability of postal services: in Sweden 74% of persons indicated that they found postal services to be affordable (Table 3.17). Moreover, looking at the real cost of postage in Sweden (see purchase price parity comparison in Table 4.13) postage costs in Sweden are cheaper than in Poland.
Note that 37% of those in Sweden specifically mentioned they were happy with the current service and 7% had no improvements to suggest.
For consumers in Poland, the most frequently mentioned improvements were: - faster delivery (28%)
- reduced queuing times at the post office (18%) - cheaper prices (15%)
- less lost mail (8%)
- easier to buy stamps or other postage (8%) - closer post office (8%).
A desire for faster delivery is understandable in the context of Poland’s quality of service mentioned above i.e. only 53.4% of priority mail was delivered in Poland in J+1 in 2010 against a target of 82%. It would also appear that this proportion is falling over time (68% in 2006).
One in five (21%) of those in Poland had no improvements to suggest.
18 http://www.pts.se/upload/Rapporter/Post/Service%20and%20competition%202011.pdf. 19 http://www.gazzettaufficiale.biz/allegati/201/2011050611A056450001006/.
For consumers in Italy, the most frequently mentioned improvements were: - Faster delivery (37%)
- Earlier delivery to my home/premises (21%) - Reduced queuing times at the post office (16%) - Cheaper prices (16%)
- Improved track and trace service (15%)
- Improve customer service – more responsible staff, better training etc (14%).
Only 7% of those in Italy had no improvements to suggest and 3% were happy with the services currently provided.
As with consumers, suggestions for improvement made by business respondents differed by country. More than three in five businesses in Italy (62%) would like to see faster delivery, compared with 37% of those in Poland and just 4% of those in Sweden. Businesses in Italy were also more likely to suggest cheaper prices (33%, compared with 22% of businesses in Poland and 8% in Italy). Similarly, 25% of those in Italy suggested earlier delivery to their home or premises, compared with just 10% of those in Sweden and 5% of those in Poland.
The most frequently mentioned improvements wanted by businesses in Sweden were: - earlier delivery to premises (10%)
- cheaper prices (8%)
- introduce or improve collection service (from customer) – times, payment options (6%) - increased efficiency – punctual, accurate, reliable deliveries (5%).
Nearly half (48%) of businesses in Sweden specifically mentioned they were happy with the current service and 1% had no improvements to suggest.
The most frequently mentioned improvements wanted by businesses in Poland were: - faster delivery (37%)
- cheaper prices (22%)
- reduced queuing times at the post office (13%) - less lost mail (8%)
- more choice of service (7%).
The finding regarding faster delivery ties in with consumers’ view and again would appear to be related to the actual achieved quality of delivery in Poland compared with the target. Just over one in ten (13%) of businesses in Poland had no improvements to suggest and 2% specifically mentioned they were happy with the current service provided.
The most frequently mentioned improvements wanted by businesses in Italy were: - faster delivery (62%)
- cheaper prices (33%) - less lost mail (27%)
- earlier delivery to my premises (25%) - improved track and trace service (24%) - more choice of service (16%)
RAND Europe Postal service preferences for customers in
Accent Italy, Poland and Sweden
Swiss Economics
Again, just over one in ten (11%) of businesses in Italy had no improvements to suggest and 3% were happy with the services currently provided. The high level of desired improvements suggests that businesses in Italy have a range of concerns regarding the quality of the postal service.