18.11.2022

"Users are in favour of harnessing technology for the provision of postal services: they would like to see more and smarter automated parcel lockers that are shared by all postal  providers. Indeed, one of the necessary developments that we are looking forward to in the postal sector is the shared use of automated delivery systems by various postal networks. Postal networks must open, similarly to telephone networks 20 years ago", said Eduard LOVIN, vice-president of ANCOM.

User experience with post offices and automated systems

About one third of postal users went to a post office in the last 12 months to pick up parcels, with an average waiting time of approximately 13 minutes. A similar percentage of respondents picked up parcels from automatic delivery systems, which were appreciated mainly for their efficiency, proximity and availability.

Users value the proximity of postal offices or of automatic delivery systems, considering 14-16 minutes, on average, as an acceptable travel interval for reaching them.

Automated systems could be used on a greater scale, the main reasons invoked by those who do not use them being the absence of such systems in the area where they live and the lack of this option in the seller’s offer.

Use of postal services

The majority of postal users are addressees of postal items, rather than senders: 62% did not send any letter/greeting card/document in the last 12 months, 59% did not send any parcels, but 81% received parcels and 57% received letters/postcards/greeting cards.

Sending letters/postcards/greeting cards has been replaced by the use of electronic communications services and/or digital services: SMS/instant messages are the most popular replacement (68%), followed by e-mail (43%), phone calls and online social media platforms.

Online shopping

73% of the postal users did online shopping in the last 12 months, over 40% of them on a  monthly or even weekly basis. In such situations, the speed of delivery is very important to 8 out of 10 respondents.

Digital platforms (such as Glovo, Bolt, Bringo or Tazz) delivered purchases to 45% of the online shoppers. Rapidity and convenience are deemed to be the main advantages of the delivery services provided by these platforms, services which, on certain segments, compete with the postal services of traditional postal providers.

Delivery times and prices

Over 40% of respondents think that letters and parcels reach their recipients in about 3-4 days, without  significant differences between urban and rural.

Delivery time is important for most users. However, respondents would be in favour of slower delivery of the parcels if lower delivery costs (24%) or for free delivery (30%) were offered in exchange.

In the context of a high degree of satisfaction (70% and higher) with the delivery prices of both letters and parcels, more than half of the respondents do not inform themselves about the tariffs, as they rarely send postal items and their postal expenses are low. The main sources of information are the provider's website (24%), respectively the employees of the postal service provider (21%).

ANCOM Survey

The survey was conducted in  June 2022, using the CATI method (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing), on a main  sample of 1,436 respondents aged 16+ who directly used postal services in the last 12 months, with a maximum error margin of  ± 2.6%. The survey is available, in Romanian, on ANCOM's website.