Arcep is publishing the findings of its monitoring of mail and parcel operators’ business in 2021.
For the first time in ten years, the total number of addressed items (mail, parcels, print media) increased in 2021: growth that was driven by the rise in the number of parcels delivered and by a relative stagnation in the number of mail items sent, after the very sharp decrease of 2020.
- MAIL, PARCELS, PRINT MEDIA: a total of 9.7 billion postal items were addressed by mail and parcel operators in 2021, which were delivered in France or exported abroad. This marks a 1.3% YoY increase, after the exceptional decrease in 2020 resulting from the Covid-19 crisis (-15% YoY).
- MAIL: In structural decline for close to 15 years, the volume of addressed mail, which represents around three quarters of all addressed postal items delivered in France or exported, decreased slightly in 2021 (7.17 billion addressed mail items), after the dramatic decrease in 2020: -0.7% in 2021 versus -19.4% in 2020.
- PARCELS: The increase in the number of parcels delivered in France and exported (ordinary parcels, express parcels and small packages) intensified once again in 2021. The volume of parcels rose to 1.7 billion, marking an even greater increase than in 2020 (+14.9% YoY in 2021 versus +12.4% in 2020). The use of e-commerce in 2021 continued to surge, and there was a substantial revival in the shipment of parcels between businesses.
- PRINT MEDIA: The volume of postal deliveries of press items to subscribers continues to shrink: traffic dropped by 5% YoY in 2021 compared to around -7% in previous years.