Dive Brief:
The United States Postal Service is experiencing a historic surge in mail and packages this holiday season, the agency said on Monday.
An employee shortage due to the COVID-19 surge and capacity issues with airlifts and trucking are causing the temporary delays, the agency said in a press release.
To cope with the mail surge, the USPS has extended its holiday retail hours in select locations, expanded operational capacity with new equipment, leased extra vehicles and extended its package delivery window.
Dive Insight:
The COVID-19 pandemic and early holiday sales from retailers seem to have accelerated a jump in e-commerce shopping. Research from Deloitte's InsightIQ found that retailers' online sales in October catalyzed a 50% year-over-year spike in online sales, kicking off an extended holiday shopping season. That online spending increase continued for Cyber Monday and Black Friday, research from Adobe indicated.