RUNNING head: USPS Issues During the Year of COVID 1
Assignment 4: Literature Review & Gap Analysis
American Public University
Introduction
The official United States Postal Service began on July 1st, 1971, but USPS's history
dates back even further. The first Postmaster appointed by the continental congress in 1775
was President Ben Franklin. Although the 13 colonies had a mail service it was very
informal. The service operated with writters using friends to send the correspondences
(Longfellow, 2017). The idea of a fully operation postal service began with the establishment
of the notable pony express in 1860. The specialized service linked the east to the west coast
bringing the country together. The Pony Express covered a large area from Missouri to
California. The operation allowed deliveries to take half the time the competition provided
(Andrews, 2016). Although it took some time for USPS to become official, the USPS is a
reliable source to ship parcels to the entire country.
In 1907, UPS was established, which gave another option to send packages. UPS was
the first competitor since Pony Express was deactivated. It took 47 years for another
competitor to rise that offered the same service like USPS. The USPS has served the
American people for generations through several world events. The Postal service was
present in both world wars, the Vietnam and Cold war, and COVID-19. As the year 2020
continued to compound world issues within one calendar year, the post office's reliability was
no exception to the toll the year took on the service.
USPS intended to create a communication network between America, England, and
the new settlements of North America. The people of the new America had no other means
, to share information other than by letter. As America expanded, so did the service. Between
1790 and
1860, the number of post offices increased from just 75 to 24,498 (Obringer; McManus,
2007). By 1819, the Post Office Department served people in 22 states, and a letter went
from Washington D.C. to Nashville, Tennessee, in just 11 days (Obringer; McManus, 2007).
The trifecta of logistical anomalies that arose during the 2020 fourth quarter created many
challenges for the United States Postal Service, which caused storage issues that ultimately
delayed deliveries.
Literature Review
The 2020 Holiday Season
According to a December Morgan Stanley analysis, Amazon delivers about 46% of
its packages of nearly 70,000 transactions over the past nine years. USPS is the second-
largest deliverer, moving about 30% of all Amazon boxes (Premack, 2020). According to
the financial
data firm Facteus, between May and July of 2020, consumer spending on Amazon was up
60% from the same time frame last year (Semuels, 2020). The largest U.S. mall owner,
Simon Property Group, directed a closure from 18th until March 29th. (Thomas & Berk,
2020). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Government influences in response to
Covid-19 caused limited grocery store hours. The temporary shutdown of several malls
also pushed 17 bricks-and- mortar retailers into bankruptcy in 2020. The pandemic caused
U.S. e-commerce purchasing to surge north of 32% in Q4 (Young, February 19th, Davis,
February 2nd, & Ali January 29th, 2021). COVID-19-related boosts in online
shopping resulted in an additional $174.87 billion in e-commerce revenue in 2020 that
otherwise would not have been reached until 2022, Digital Commerce 360 estimates. The
record-breaking jump in total retail sales may come as a surprise considering the
Assignment 4: Literature Review & Gap Analysis
American Public University
Introduction
The official United States Postal Service began on July 1st, 1971, but USPS's history
dates back even further. The first Postmaster appointed by the continental congress in 1775
was President Ben Franklin. Although the 13 colonies had a mail service it was very
informal. The service operated with writters using friends to send the correspondences
(Longfellow, 2017). The idea of a fully operation postal service began with the establishment
of the notable pony express in 1860. The specialized service linked the east to the west coast
bringing the country together. The Pony Express covered a large area from Missouri to
California. The operation allowed deliveries to take half the time the competition provided
(Andrews, 2016). Although it took some time for USPS to become official, the USPS is a
reliable source to ship parcels to the entire country.
In 1907, UPS was established, which gave another option to send packages. UPS was
the first competitor since Pony Express was deactivated. It took 47 years for another
competitor to rise that offered the same service like USPS. The USPS has served the
American people for generations through several world events. The Postal service was
present in both world wars, the Vietnam and Cold war, and COVID-19. As the year 2020
continued to compound world issues within one calendar year, the post office's reliability was
no exception to the toll the year took on the service.
USPS intended to create a communication network between America, England, and
the new settlements of North America. The people of the new America had no other means
, to share information other than by letter. As America expanded, so did the service. Between
1790 and
1860, the number of post offices increased from just 75 to 24,498 (Obringer; McManus,
2007). By 1819, the Post Office Department served people in 22 states, and a letter went
from Washington D.C. to Nashville, Tennessee, in just 11 days (Obringer; McManus, 2007).
The trifecta of logistical anomalies that arose during the 2020 fourth quarter created many
challenges for the United States Postal Service, which caused storage issues that ultimately
delayed deliveries.
Literature Review
The 2020 Holiday Season
According to a December Morgan Stanley analysis, Amazon delivers about 46% of
its packages of nearly 70,000 transactions over the past nine years. USPS is the second-
largest deliverer, moving about 30% of all Amazon boxes (Premack, 2020). According to
the financial
data firm Facteus, between May and July of 2020, consumer spending on Amazon was up
60% from the same time frame last year (Semuels, 2020). The largest U.S. mall owner,
Simon Property Group, directed a closure from 18th until March 29th. (Thomas & Berk,
2020). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Government influences in response to
Covid-19 caused limited grocery store hours. The temporary shutdown of several malls
also pushed 17 bricks-and- mortar retailers into bankruptcy in 2020. The pandemic caused
U.S. e-commerce purchasing to surge north of 32% in Q4 (Young, February 19th, Davis,
February 2nd, & Ali January 29th, 2021). COVID-19-related boosts in online
shopping resulted in an additional $174.87 billion in e-commerce revenue in 2020 that
otherwise would not have been reached until 2022, Digital Commerce 360 estimates. The
record-breaking jump in total retail sales may come as a surprise considering the
