Postal
An overview of the local business community’s perception of postal services
Findings of the Business Perception Survey - Business Community
The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) is today publishing the results of its latest business perception survey. The survey was carried out using a sample of 394 respondents which is representative of the Maltese business community (i.e. composed mainly of micro enterprises engaging between 0-9 employees).
All interviews were carried out between April and May 2017 over the telephone with the person responsible for handling the mail of each respective organisation. Respondents were chosen randomly.
Postal markets within and beyond Europe are experiencing shifts in traditional letter mail volumes and a shift in consumer and business behaviour. The MCA carries out such surveys periodically to observe the extent of these shifts as in the local scenario, as well as to establish whether postal users’ needs are being met.
Overall Service Quality
83% of respondents claiming to be satisfied with the overall quality of postal services provided by MaltaPost.
Expenditure
The majority of respondents (31%) were not aware of their expenditure on postal services. Respondents who gave an answer tended to spend within the lower brackets, with the majority (16%) claiming to have spent between €0-4.99 in the twelve months preceding the survey.
Sending and Receiving Letters
The majority of respondents (57%) claimed to have received the same volume of addressed letters, consistent with findings from previous research carried out in 2014.
When asked about sending letters the majority of respondents claimed to have sent the same volume of addressed letters (49%), while the proportion of respondents who claimed to have sent more letters decreased from 7% in 2014 to 4% in 2017. Of those respondents who claimed to have sent more letters cited reasons such as marketing campaigns (40%) and an increasing client-base (33%) as the cause.
The majority (86%) pointed to email as the reason for sending fewer letters, followed by online payments (21%) and eBusiness solutions (such as websites) and messaging services (9% and 13% respectively).
Delivery Speeds
Participants were also asked about what lead-time (in days) from the date of posting a letter to actual delivery they would find acceptable. 58% of respondents claimed that they would find next day delivery (D+1) acceptable.
Acceptability of a 5-Day Week
Mail is currently delivered on a 6-day schedule (Monday to Saturday). Respondents were asked if they would find a 5-day delivery week acceptable: in 2014 33% replied in the positive whereas in 2017 this figure was 44%. Respondents were then asked which day, Monday or Saturday, they would prefer to remove delivery from. 80% of respondents claimed that they would prefer to remove delivery on Saturday i.e. Monday-Friday delivery schedule.
86% of respondents who claimed that a 5-day week would not be acceptable were willing to pay higher postal prices in order to maintain a 6-day schedule.
Post Offices
68% of respondents claimed to have visited a post office in the 12 months preceding the survey. The main reasons for visiting the post office were to send letters and buy stamps (both 47%).
Complaints
Respondents were asked if, in the 12 months preceding the survey, they or any member of their organisation made a formal complaint with MaltaPost about any aspect of postal services. 8% claimed to have done so, with the majority of respondents having lodged a complaint once (as opposed to multiple complaints). Complaints mainly related to loss (48%) and misdelivery (31%).
Findings of the Business Perception Survey - Medium and Large Businesses
The above perception survey provided viewpoints relating to the entire business community in Malta i.e. all businesses comprising micro-, small-, medium- and large-sized organisations. In addition a further sample of 172 respondents composed entirely of medium (10-49 employees) and large (50+ employees) businesses was taken. Such businesses tend to make heavier use of postal services when compared to smaller businesses and, due to their proportionately small size within the representative sample (2.6%), may not be sufficiently captured within the overall sample.
Expenditure
At 26% the majority of respondents from this sample, in parallel to respondents from the overall sample, were not aware of their expenditure on postal services within the 12 months preceding the survey. Respondents who gave a reply tended to spend within the higher brackets, with the majority (17%) spending over €500.
View Business Postal Services 2017 presentation
As regulator for postal services the Malta Communications Authority carries out research on a regular basis. This survey, part of a series of surveys examining household, businesses and bulk mailers’ use of postal services is intended to assess the extent of businesses’ satisfaction with the services provided by MaltaPost, as well as to monitor a number of aspects related to the sustainability of postal services (such as price levels, quality and access). The aim of this research is to guide the Authority’s decisions, the effects of which are felt by consumers and businesses alike, by providing an additional source of information for such decisions.
Results indicate that the majority of businesses claim to have received and sent, more or less, the same number of addressed letters over the previous 12 months. Notwithstanding this, when compared to a similar survey carried out two years ago the decline in letter mail volumes continued to grow as more businesses resorted to other alternatives such as emails and online services. Moreover, the survey results suggest that businesses have high price elasticity with 64% of business respondents say that they would switch to non-postal alternatives, should the price of addressed letters increase by 5% to 10%.
On the other hand, results from this survey indicate that demand for parcel post services has grown. Indeed, in contrast to 51% in 2011, this time 63% of businesses confirmed that they had received a parcel during the last 12 months. Interestingly, 10% of businesses say they received a parcel only from an operator which was not MaltaPost while 22% of business respondents claim to have received parcels only from MaltaPost. Meanwhile, 31% of businesses say they received parcels both from MaltaPost and other operators.
With regards to the popularity of post offices in Malta, the survey shows that 72% of businesses have been to the post office during the last 12 months. The frequency with which businesses visit the post office, however, has fallen when compared to 2011. The most demanded services at the post office by businesses relate to parcels and purchase of stamps. In terms of satisfaction, 80% of businesses that have been to a post office say that they are satisfied with the level of services and facilities provided at the post office, down from 89% in 2011. Of the respondents that are not satisfied with the level of services provided at the post office, 53% blame it on queues, 14% complain about the lack of parking facilities while 12% complain about the opening / closing hours of the post offices.
As for other services offered by MaltaPost, namely collection and delivery of parcels and collection and delivery of registered mail, the majority of businesses claim to be satisfied with these services. To this effect, 83% of businesses are satisfied with the overall quality of postal services provided by MaltaPost.
On the other hand, the number of formal complaints with MaltaPost grew from 7% in 2011 to 10%. Moreover, only 35% of businesses which have made a formal complaint with MaltaPost were satisfied or highly satisfied with the way their complaint had been handled, down from 45% in 2011.
The survey also sheds some light on the expenditure patterns of businesses with regards to postal services. Accordingly, 43% of businesses claim to have spent more than €30 a year on addressed letters. In parallel, results from the survey also show that 50% of all business respondents are satisfied with MaltaPost's general price levels, down from 69% in 2011.
With respect to MaltaPost's website, the survey shows that the use of this site has increased over 2011, with 58% of businesses claiming to have accessed it. In the 2011 survey only 27% of businesses claimed to have used MaltaPost's website. It is also interesting to note that according to the survey results, 76% of businesses claim that they write down the post-code when sending a postal article.
The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) is today publishing the results of its latest bulk mailer perception survey. Forty face-to-face interviews were carried out between April and June 2017 with the person responsible for handling the mail of each respective organisation. Respondents had to have used MaltaPost’s bulk mail service to send on average more than 750 addressed letters in a year to be eligible to participate.
Postal markets within and beyond Europe are experiencing a decline in traditional letter mail volumes and a shift in consumer and business behaviour. The MCA carries out such surveys periodically to observe these shifts and ensure that consumers’ needs are being met.
Overall Service Quality
The majority of respondents were satisfied with the overall quality of the postal services provided by MaltaPost (75%). Furthermore 68% of respondents claimed to be satisfied with MaltaPost’s bulk mail service.
Sending Letters
The majority of letter mail items in the domestic postal market originate from businesses. Survey participants were asked about how they made use of the bulk mail service in terms of frequency and volumes during the 12 months preceding the survey.
The majority of respondents (73%) claimed that they sent the same amount of letters in the 12 months preceding the survey, while the proportion of respondents who claimed to have sent fewer letters increased from 18% in 2014 to 20% in 2017.
A general shift was observed in terms of the frequency with which bulk mail is used. In the previous survey, carried out in 2014, 25% and 33% of respondents made use of the bulk mail service on a daily and weekly basis respectively. In 2017 the difference between daily and weekly users widened, with 20% and 38% sending bulk mail every day and every week respectively.
Respondents who claimed to have sent fewer letters cited email (75%), social media and online payment facilities (both 50%) as the main reasons for doing so. Indeed businesses are increasingly relying on digital solutions, such as online billing management solutions, to communicate with their customers.
Post-code Usage
When asked if they were aware of the post-code finder on MaltaPost’s website 88% of respondents replied in the positive. Overall 92% of respondents claimed to write the post-code when sending letters through the bulk mail service, with the majority including the post-code in 80-100% of their mail.
Price of Bulk Mail
In the event of a 5-10% price increase the majority of respondents would consider switching to non-postal alternatives such as email (53%) and their own website (23%). 28% of respondents claimed they would have no alternative, possibly indicating physical or legal constraints.
Delivery Speeds
When asked about the lead-time of letters (i.e. the number of days between the posting of a letter and its delivery) the majority of respondents (65%) claimed that they prefer a next-day (D+1) lead-time. Despite this 33%, up from 10% in 2014, would opt for a deferred (D+3) service which is cheaper than a D+1 service depending on the urgency of the item.
Acceptability of a 5-Day Week
Survey participants were asked if they would find a 5-day week, as opposed to the current 6-day week, acceptable. 60% of respondents replied in the positive. Of those who did not find a 5-day schedule acceptable 81% indicated their willingness to pay for the maintenance of a 6-day schedule.
Maltapost's Website
At 83% the majority of respondents made use of MaltaPost’s website, with 24% of users visiting the website every week. When asked why they visited the website the main reasons for doing so were to search for postcodes (48%), postal service prices (36%), tracking parcels and searching for product information (both 30%). Furthermore 61% of users are satisfied with MaltaPost’s website.
Visiting the Post Office
92% of respondents, up from 85% in 2014, claimed to have visited the post office in the 12 months preceding the survey. The majority of respondents visit the post office every week (59%), mainly to post letters, deposit bulk mail and buy stamps (all 65%). Satisfaction with post office opening hours has decreased to 35% from 55% in 2014.
Complaints
In the 12 months preceding the survey 20% of respondents claimed to have lodged a complaint. The reasons for doing so were related to delays, mis-delivery and registered mail.
As regulator for postal services the Malta Communications Authority carries out research on a regular basis. This survey, part of a series of surveys examining household and business use of postal services, is intended to assess the extent of bulk mailers’ satisfaction with the services provided by MaltaPost, as well as to monitor a number of aspects related to postal services (such as price levels, quality and access). The aim of this research is to guide the Authority’s decisions, the effects of which are felt by consumers and businesses alike, by providing an additional source of information for such decisions.
Download Bulk Mail Survey presentation
Download Press Release in Maltese
The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) is today publishing the results of a Household Perception Survey. The following are the main highlights of the study.
Overall Service Quality
94% of respondents claimed that they were satisfied with the overall quality of MaltaPost’s postal services (89% in 2014).
Expenditure
Since 2014, the average amount of money spent by households on posting articles in the last 12 months increased, with 23% of households spending more than €20 annually, as against 16% in 2014.
Sending and Receiving Letters
58% of respondents claimed to have received the same number of letters in the last 12 months, whilst those claiming to have received fewer letters increased to 32% from 22% in 2014. With regard to the amount of letters sent, 56% of respondents claimed to have sent the same number of letters over a one-year period. This figure is consistent with that reported in 2014.
Respondents who claimed that they sent fewer letters in the last 12 months were asked which alternative they used and, as in 2014, email was by far the most frequently used alternative, followed by the telephone, and social media. It was also noted that the number of respondents who did not find it necessary to send mail grew from 16% in 2014 to 28% in 2016.
Use of Postcodes
With respect to postcodes, 63% of respondents claimed to always write the postcode when sending a postal article. This is in marked contrast to awareness of MaltaPost’s postcode finder which can be found on its website, where only 33% claimed to be aware of the postcode finder.
Price of Letter Mail
Despite the fact that 74% of respondents find the price of letter mail reasonable, results indicate that consumers are increasingly price sensitive. 51% of respondents, up from 38% in 2014, claimed that they would switch to non-postal alternatives if the price of a 50g letter were to increase by 5 to10% (i.e. the price would increase from 26c - 29c).
Delivery speeds
Although price is still a strong factor when it comes to choosing postal services, speed may not always be given top priority. Since 2014, the proportion of respondents who find next-day delivery (D+1) to be the only acceptable lead-time fell from 64% to 58%. In fact the number of respondents who claimed to find a D+2 service acceptable, increased from 28% to 32%. Furthermore, the proportion of respondents who would, depending on the urgency of their item, opt for a D+3 service, which is generally cheaper, increased from 4% in 2014 to 25%.
Acceptability of a 5-day week
Despite a drop in the number of letters received, when asked if they would find a 5-day delivery week acceptable, 73% of respondents replied in the negative. Those respondents who answered positively were further asked which day, Saturday or Monday, they would remove delivery from. 69% of the respondents preferred to remove Saturday (i.e. mail would be delivered between Monday and Friday).
Receiving parcels
52% of respondents claimed to have received a parcel within the last 12 months. MaltaPost was by far the most frequently mentioned operator (90%), followed by DHL (61%). Of those individuals who received parcels through MaltaPost’s service, 83% were satisfied with the service (up from 71% in 2014).
When asked how they prefer to receive parcels respondents’ primary choice was to have the parcel delivered to the address indicated (88%); at 5% there was little, but equal, interest in picking up their parcel from the head office/depot on the same day or from the closest post office on the following day.
With regard to instances where respondents were not at home to receive parcels, 77% preferred to collect parcels on the next day from the nearest post office, followed by same-day collection from the head office (25%).
Post offices
84% of respondents claim to have visited a post office in the last 12 months (70% in 2014), of which just under half claimed to have visited the post office every quarter (30% in 2014). Several respondents cited queues as the reason for not visiting the post office.
The most popular services received in a post office include buying stamps (51%), collecting parcels and paying bills (both at 45%). In 2014, the number of respondents who claimed to have visited the post office to collect a parcel stood at 27%, clearly indicating increased activity in this regard.
Complaints
10% of respondents claimed to have made a complaint to MaltaPost within the previous 12 months.
The most common complaints related to misdelivery (25%), a reduction of 11% since 2014, followed by delay (17%), which increased by 4% since 2014. Of those respondents who claimed to have filed a complaint, 71% were satisfied with the way their complaint was handled, a significant increase from 28% in 2014.
Website usage
98% of respondents claimed to have made use of MaltaPost’s website in the last 12 months, which represents a substantial increase since 2014 (20%).
This round of research has shown consistency with previous studies carried out by the MCA in a number of key areas. The trends observed over the past years include decreasing letter volumes, increased usage of email as a substitute for letters, an increased acceptance of deferred delivery, and a general shift in usage towards parcels due to heightened eCommerce activity.
Additional information
As regulator for postal services, the MCA carries out research on a regular basis. The aim of this research is to guide the Authority’s decisions, the effects of which are felt by consumers and businesses alike.
This survey was carried out carried out via telephone between October and December 2016. 500 respondents over the age of 18 were chosen randomly in order to create a representative sample, with each respondent identified as being the person mainly responsible for the mail in their household.
As regulator for postal services the Malta Communications Authority carries out research on a regular basis. This survey, part of a series of surveys examining household and business use of postal services, is intended to assess the extent of bulk mailers’ satisfaction with the services provided by MaltaPost, as well as to monitor a number of aspects related to postal services (such as price levels, quality and access). The aim of this research is to guide the Authority’s decisions, the effects of which are felt by consumers and businesses alike, by providing an additional source of information for such decisions.
Download Household Postal Survey presentation
Download Press Release in Maltese