Shop at Office Depot. And while you’re there, mail a package.
That, at any rate, is what the U.S. Postal Service hopes will happen under a deal that now has almost 1,100 stores in the national office products chain selling stamps and offering Parcel Post, Priority Mail and other shipping services.
“We’re excited to extend some of the best shipping values in the country to Office Depot customers, at a time and place that’s convenient to them,” Susan Plonkey, the Postal Service’s acting president for mailing and shipping services, said in a Monday news release.
The program began on a pilot basis last winter and has gradually expanded to encompass virtually all Office Depot locations around the country, said Michael Plunkett, the Postal Service’s manager of retail partners. In return, the chain gets to keep a portion of the proceeds, according to agency spokeswoman Patricia Licata.
While UPS has long had a presence in Office Depot stores, the new arrangement is the first of its kind for the Postal Service. So far, the numbers don’t show that it’s costing nearby post offices any business, Plunkett said.
“We think we’re picking up revenues and transactions that we otherwise would not have gotten.”
