Belgium based International Post Corporation (IPC) has shown that parcels now account for more than 50% of revenues for some postal operators, as mail and advertising mail volumes decline.

Preliminary full year results for the IPC show that growth across member posts was just 1.6% as against 5% for the full year 2019. The global pandemic has had a significant impact on these results.

The main growth driver was parcels as both domestic B2C and cross-border e-commerce boomed. Parcel volume and revenue growth didn’t always offset falls in other areas for some postal operators. Many are diversifying to offset the letter mail volume decline.

Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC said: “The COVID-19 crisis has been an accelerator of the structural trends in the postal sector. As mail volumes further declined, especially advertising mail, parcels now account for over 50% of revenue for some posts. Posts also saw costs increase as they had to adapt operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing shift towards parcel operations leads to investments which continue to focus on parcel sorting capacity and automation, as well as expanding parcel locker networks. Posts launched new e-commerce delivery services to meet consumer demands during the COVID-19 crisis. These activities have the potential to strengthen the postal sector in the future”.

The complete results are set to be published in November.