Snail mail traffic plunges as Kenyans shift online

The postal and courier businesses are experiencing a decline in the number of letters sent as most Kenyans embrace e-mails and e-commerce, a new report from the industry regulator says.

The statistics released by Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) early this week indicate that the number of letters sent by courier services declined 35.7 per cent from 113,781 during the previous quarter to 73,162 this quarter.

During the same period the number of letters sent using postal services fell to 23 million from 25 million letters the previous period. A decline of 9.7 per cent.

International incoming letters fell 16.6 per cent from the previous quarter and 25.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

International outgoing letters fell 47.4 per cent compared to the same period of the previous quarter and a decline of 42 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

“This trend is indicative of the impact of increased internet access,” reads the report.

At the same total courier items sent using postal services declined 393,571 during the previous period to 367,447 during the period under review.

This represented a 6.6 per cent decline but a 2.1 per cent increase was recorded over the same period last year

International incoming courier items declined 3.1 per cent from the previous period to record 9,344 courier items from 9,642 courier items in the previous quarter.

The same trend was observed during the same period of the previous year where a decline of 14.1 per cent was reported.

At the same time the international outgoing courier experienced a decline of 2 per cent from the previous period and a 3 per cent decline compared last year.

This trend is similar to the international postal traffic which signifies the overall effect the increased internet penetration has had on postal and courier services in the country.

Embrace technology

The impact of e-commerce and other online applications on the postal and courier sector has been evidenced in the declining trend of posted volumes.

In an earlier interview, chairman of the Courier Industry Association of Kenya Mr Jack Muchira, said that sector players need to embrace technology in their services if they are to remain relevant in the sector.