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WASHINGTON \u2014 Holiday mailing deadlines are fast approaching, and the United States Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 850 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year\u2019s Day and more than 15 billion total pieces of mail this holiday season. Whether customers shop on Black Friday, Cyber Monday or both, they can relax knowing packages will arrive at their destination on time for the holidays.<\/p>\n
Customers planning to ship packages are encouraged to visit a local Post Office no later than the below dates for expected delivery by Dec. 25 to Air\/Army Post Office\/Fleet Post Office\/Diplomatic Post Office and domestic addresses:*<\/p>\n
To send packages to loved ones serving in the military and diplomatic posts abroad, the Postal Service offers a discounted price of $17.35 on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. The price includes a $1.50 per-box discount for mail sent to APO\/FPO\/DPO destinations worldwide.<\/p>\n
To handle the surge in volume, the Postal Service is expanding its Sunday delivery operations in select high package volume locations during the holiday season. More than 6 million packages are expected to be delivered each Sunday in December. Mail carriers will also deliver Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day for an additional fee in\u00a0select<\/strong>locations.<\/p>\n Busiest Week<\/strong> Ship Online from Home<\/strong> Holiday Advertising Campaign<\/strong> The first of several TV spots began airing Nov. 6 and can be viewed on\u00a0USPS TV<\/a><\/em>. A direct mail piece with information customers need to know for the holidays will be mailed to 105.2 million homes by Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n Additional Tips\u00a0<\/strong> The Postal Service offers shipping tips in 10 video \u201chow to<\/a>\u201d guides. Each video is less than three minutes long and shows customers how to address packages, ship packages and pack a box so items arrive safely.<\/p>\n
\nWith the increase in early and online gift shopping, the Postal Service no longer has a \u201cbusiest day\u201d for holiday shipping. Customer mailing and shipping traffic is expected to increase beginning Dec. 11, with the week of Dec. 18 to 24 predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week, when nearly 3 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered. The Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages\u00a0per week<\/strong>\u00a0from Dec. 11 to 24.<\/p>\n
\nThe Postal Service\u2019s busiest day\u00a0online\u00a0<\/strong>is predicted to be Dec. 18 when more than 7 million customers avoid holiday hassles and visit\u00a0usps.com<\/a><\/em>\u00a0for help sending special gifts. Millions of customers will take advantage of convenient online services, like Click-N-Ship, to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and request free next-day Package Pickup. And\u00a0usps.com<\/a><\/em>is always open.<\/p>\n
\nThe Postal Service\u2019s 2017 holiday campaign features direct mail, TV, radio, print, digital and social media promotions highlighting the organization\u2019s proud tradition of delivering cheer and value to consumers and businesses.<\/p>\n
\nThe Postal Service\u2019s new feature, Informed Delivery, makes tracking packages easy. The tool allows eligible customers to view incoming mail, track packages and reschedule deliveries. Customers can sign-up for free at\u00a0usps.com\/informeddelivery<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n