Review of post offices 2009 - 2012

Mobile and online

Society, technology and the economy are changing rapidly. Six out of every ten people currently work outside their municipality of residence, and three out of four live in urban areas. Postal services are therefore increasingly required in the workplace or on the way to and from work. What’s more, almost nine out of every ten Swiss own a mobile phone. Around 75% of the population uses the Internet either daily or several times a week, among other things for e-mail and financial services.

Sharp decline in over-the-counter business

These developments are not without consequences for demand at the post office counter: Between 2000 and 2010, the decline in letters was 55%, 43% for parcels and 22% for payments. In response, Swiss Post has comprehensively modernized its sales network over recent years (see also the page entitled “The postal network 2001 – 2008”). New offerings have become important alongside post offices, especially the home delivery service (“post on the doorstep”), agencies (“Swiss Post in shops”) and online platforms. But customers‘ lifestyle habits continue to evolve. Moreover, competition on the postal market continues to increase.

421 locations under discussion

So the sales network needs to become even more customer-friendly and cost-effective – as required of Swiss Post by the Federal Council. Between now and mid-2012, Swiss Post is examining alternatives for 421 underused post offices (see list below). Possible alternatives are to:

• continue unchanged
• replace with an agency
• replace with a home delivery service.

During this process, Swiss Post is taking all the political and legal requirements into account. And, as has proved effective in the past, it is seeking a dialogue with those affected locally, in order to reach agreement.