Commercial and retail domestic shipping prices are set to increase from October 2, 2022 through January 22, 2023.
The United States Postal Service filed notice that commercial and retail parcel shipping prices are set to increase for the holiday season, starting at 12 a.m. CT on October 2, 2022, and will continue through 12 a.m. CT on January 22, 2023.
The temporary price increase was approved by the Governors of the Postal Service on August 9 and will affect prices on parcels including:
- Priority Mail Express (PME)
- Priority Mail (PM)
- First-Class Package Service (FCPS)
- Parcel Select
- USPS Retail Ground
International parcel prices will not be affected during this time, and per the official announcement, no structural changes are planned as part of the price increase.
What These Price Increases Mean For You
These price hikes are part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year “Delivering for America” plan for the United States Postal Service. While you do need to factor them into your business calculations, good planning and adaptations can more than make up for these increased costs.
USPS already increased its pricing last year as part of this plan. Our marketing team at Amsive is no stranger to preparing for and adapting to shifts in the postal world and wrote about how you can best work with the new costs of mail. You can read the full article here, but the high-level overview can be boiled down into four key points:
- Be proactive, not reactive.
- Optimize direct mail investments.
- Utilize data tools.
- Think omnichannel.
Take Proactive Steps to Ensure Your Business’s Future
There’s only so much time you can spend worrying about how changes outside your control will affect your business. The most valuable thing you can do is take control of what you can directly affect and create a marketing strategy that accounts for these new developments and best positions you against your competitors and the changing environment.
Our direct mail and marketing experts at Amsive have decades of experience navigating the shifting postal landscape. However, a strong traditional marketing campaign is only one part of a data-centric, omnichannel strategy, giving you the power to know more and do more. Dig deeper into how you can blend direct mail and digital advertising into a single stronger, more cohesive strategy, or let’s talk about how to achieve more for your marketing — and your business.
A full list of commercial and retail pricing can be found on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm
Author: Ryan Smythe, Content Manager
