The United State Postal Service is really trying to make money and it looks like they mean business. Announced today in the Washington Post USPS will start selling gift cards come May.
Coming soon to a post office near you: Gift cards
“Gift card sales rose during the holiday season and 5 percent overall in 2010, helping post-Christmas retail sales and signaling a broader resurgence in consumer spending. More than half of gift cards are redeemed in the month after Christmas, according to the TowerGroup research firm. Card sales are expected to hit at least $100 billion in 2012.”
The real question is will gift cards work? Will they generate any revenue or will they end up being a relatively failed venture much like when USPS started selling greeting cards at certain locations a few months back?
How much can the USPS actually expect to make of this?
What they need to do now: partner / make a big push with corporate philanthropies and non-profits who help people in need…especially immigrants or others who do a lot of mailing internationally.
Just a thought…
What ever happened to cutting out Saturday mail delivery to save money? Don’t know too many people who would be opposed to that.