"Online sales grew by 9.4% in the three months to April 2019; the highest since records began.

[south London postie]

However, department stores fell by -0.5% and household goods stores declined by -2.9%." End quote.

Yes, that is 9.4% growth in online retail in three months. Compared with the same period last year it's growth of 5.2% (it's generally a time of year for buying summer clothes). It is rather dramatic.

For those who haven't quite got it yet, there is a full scale social revolution underway and RM is right at the centre of it. For now.

To borrow a phrase: Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustry ... /april2019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[south London postie]

I guess my comment on this would be as I've mentioned on here before; if your frame was built even three years ago - IMO - no one can treat it any more than a guide now for what constitutes a shift of work. Where I am, no one thinks packets and parcels have dropped back to even pre-Black Friday levels.

You do what you can and work your time. But no one can be questioned and criticised for 'not finishing' a job of work designed for what is now another era.

[Newbie001]

It's same culprits that order all there stuff online I would say, they account for 90% of packets imo. Shouldn't be too hard for RM and them to come up with way that suits both. You would think lol At least a way to do pre-printed P739's would make our job a lot easier. And who invented surcharge cards that look like a Delivery card. Sick of being chased down street having to explain what they are. Could at least put them in an envelope.

[Chelseablue]

Massive profits years and years ago ( less pkts) average 3 bags of mail to deliver ,and under public ownership, Huge amount of packets etc now 9 bags of mail , under the greed of privitisation less profit . ?

[rambo1]

Massive profits years and years ago ( less pkts) average 3 bags of mail to deliver ,and under public ownership, Huge amount of packets etc now 9 bags of mail , under the greed of privitisation less profit . ?

We were more efficient yrs ago in terms of everyone on their own, no wasted time waiting for partner at van. Does the extra time it takes to process and deliver a packet actually turn into extra profit, when overtime bill is taken into account? Price of buying and running, say, 50 vans instead of 100 bikes. It's nothing to do with privatisation, it's the job that's changed and the business model is really struggling with it. Even if letters are dropping by half of what they say, in my experience, on the whole there aren't necessarily more gaps, you just go to same houses with 1 letter instead of 2 or 3 and that doesn't really take less time.

[Celgar]

Massive profits years and years ago ( less pkts) average 3 bags of mail to deliver ,and under public ownership, Huge amount of packets etc now 9 bags of mail , under the greed of privitisation less profit . ?

Years and years ago we didn't have a fully incorporated unfair competition regime inflicted on us. The wages were less, plus we have DSA taking half the revenue away, GDPR restricting what can be posted, and the competition have their workers over a barrel being paid far less than the minimum wage. Also a lot of things that the Post Offices used to do have been taken away from them so they are financially in trouble. We have had all the technological advances as well.
The GDPR is apparently really starting to kick in now with thousands of cases and complaints being investigated. Google have just been fined £44 million in France for breaking GDPR rules.

[south London postie]

It's same culprits that order all there stuff online I would say, they account for 90% of packets imo.

I absolutely recognise that statement from 18-months ago, maybe as little as a year. Back then, it was younger people - 20s, maybe early 30s, sometimes singles, sometimes couples. Mostly educated types. Not now.

I don't say where I am is an outlier DO (that is experiencing what comes next before other places). There are outlier DOs - as on a national level - not far from our office, and the stats on daily York deliveries make your eyes bleed. Believe me, change is coming.

Some days Amazon is delivering 150 items on my walk. If they can get other retailers to adopt their standardised labelling system (and therefore pre-sort deliveries) , it would really be the start of a slippery slope.

[26l34]

At my old, non-RM place we'd increasingly be processing beer and wine, barbecues, compost, garden and flat pack furniture, stuff you'd have usually expected folk to be buying at garden centres, furniture stores, etc, in person. As South London Postie says, it's changing rapidly. My folks are in their early 60s and increasingly they buy everything on the internet, including groceries. It really is a revolution.