Office Depot has teamed up with the US Postal Service to offer mailing and shipping services at nearly 1,100 of its stores.
The deal will give consumers access to Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes and envelopes, Priority Mail service, Express Mail service, Parcel Post, stamps, and delivery and signature confirmation services.
The agreement will help the US Postal Service to reach consumers more conveniently, said Michael Plunkett, manager of retail partners at the USPS.
“If you think about the hypothetical situation today, if someone goes into an Office Depot prior to this deal, they only have one choice, and that's UPS,” he said. “Now [consumers are] able to choose the US Postal Service, and we expect to get additional shipping volume from that.”
George Hill, SVP of copy and print at Office Depot, said company research showed customers would find two in-store shipping options appealing. Small business and microbusiness owners, as well as consumers, are expected to primarily use the shipping services, he said.