Physical Mail Turned Digital

Technological advances continue to make our lives more streamlined and easier to connect with each other than ever before. The portability of smart phones and tablet PC’s make accessing e-mails, social media sites, and news content faster and more convenient for people on the go. With enticing revenue streams being generated from these services, it’s not surprising that several companies are working hard to cash in on the chance to convert physical mail into a digital alternative.

Zumbox has recently announced that it received more than $10 million in investment dollars to expand its digital services. The company, based in CA, partners with other corporations to convert the paper mail sent to their customers into a digital alternative. Each subscribing company is charged a small fee for the conversion, but it’s typically less than the company would have paid in postage for physical delivery. Individuals who prefer to have all of their mail from participating companies delivered to a single secured, digital mailbox can do just that on Zumbox’s website. The cost is free for subscribers of the service.

Various postal entities around the world are working on similar measures to retain their customer base in order to prevent them from diverting their business elsewhere. PostNord is one such example. You can read about their process in the July 26 article entitled “The Digital Convergence.”

Do you think the Postal Service could benefit from this type of service?