USPS Ends Door Delivery For New Homes; Requires Cluster Boxes

The USPS clarified its policy of providing new homes with mail delivery in an update to its Postal Operations Manual (POM) April 26, 2018.

The policy is that new homes will not received door delivery but will be required to use a centralized mailbox such as a cluster box.

Click for POM Revision: Modes of Delivery

The policy is designed to save carrier time and make deliveries more efficient. But the Inspector General found that it will also make advertising mail less valuable to recipients.

In 2015 the OIG, working with InfoTrends, surveyed 5,000 households across the country to help determine their engagement with advertising mail. They found:

— Customer engagement with advertising mail varies with mode of delivery.

— Door delivery customers report higher levels of engagement with advertising mail than those who receive their mail through a curb or neighborhood cluster box.

— Analyses of data from two Postal Service surveys reveal a general consistency with the results from the OIG-InfoTrends survey, which was analyzed by Professor Michael Bradley.

— Centralized delivery will lower Postal Service delivery costs, but could have implications on the demand side. We suggest that the Postal Service and advertising mailers work together to understand these potential impacts.

Click for OIG Report Modes of Delivery and Customer Engagement with Advertising