As I walked past my neighborhood post office, I saw a man that looked like a deer in the headlights. He was holding a Netflix DVD in one hand and was standing in front of a row of five USPS mailboxes. With a confused look on his face he turns to me and says, "Which one is for letters?" I graciously say, "All of them." He says with a big sigh of relief, "Thanks, your a life saver."So I ask you, when was the last time you mailed a letter at the post office? Barring my obsession with Netflix movies, which now I download and watch on my computer, I don't remember the last time I sent a letter. Oh, well last week I sent in my car registration, however you may agree that the USPS system is now obsolete for personal use.
With email, instant software downloads, and online bill pay; what we have used in the past for sending letters may have become obsolete. The USPS needs to shift their focus to packages and retail business delivery. This is a trend that will cause an increase in taxes, as we have seen recently, to fill the gap from the money we pay for postage to the United States Postal Service.
The trend will be toward more instant software and video game downloads, online payment of bills, instant messaging, and company collaboration in the virtual world. No more snail mail, Best Buy video games, and ATMs. Not to mention that being "green" is better for the environment.
All of this said, you will see a shift in purchase behavior over the next 18 months from in-person, in-store purchases to purchases from the comfort of your own home. Log on, research, click, buy, download.
