| NOTAS: | "The progressive digitalization of society has changed users’ needs and has a relevant impact on the postal sector, leading to continuously decreasing volumes of traffic in the letter post segment and an increased relevance of the parcel segment. In this sense, it is important that the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP) continues to analyse aspects associated with access to the postal network, by going more into detail in specific areas while taking into account the developments in the sector and complementing the work previously developed. The main purpose of this report is to examine how new needs and preferences of postal users, in particular with the increased relevance of parcels, have influenced the development of postal operator’s networks and to identify the innovative ways of postal operators reacting to market developments to address the users’ needs and the growing demand for e-commerce deliveries. The purpose of the work, in essence, is to reflect the evolution of postal networks in the context of a transition from letter mail to parcels, exploring how postal networks were altered and to mainly focus on the delivery infrastructure related to the parcel market, namely parcel lockers, and access practices in this regard. For this purpose, a questionnaire was submitted in January 2019 to the ERGP members and observers. The questionnaire was answered by 28 National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) even though complete information was not available in some cases. The basis of the report is formed by desk-top theoretical research and the analysis of the answers provided to the questionnaire." |
