USPS: Half of Americans Are Shopping Online More Since Pandemic

Half of Americans are doing more online shopping since the COVID pandemic, according to a survey conducted by the US Postal Service this month. 51% said they are doing a lot more or a little more online shopping since the coronavirus outbreak, and 17% said they are doing a lot more or a little more mailing of letters/cards.

Asked about their dependency on mail, 42% said agreed with the statement, “I am more reliant on mail as a result of social distancing; 29% were neutral, and 29% disagreed.

The majority of respondents said they want to support USPS during this time and agreed that receiving mail lifts their spirits. “Mail is extra special during this time of social distancing,” the USPS reported.

It also noted that over the past several weeks, the Postal Service observed significantly higher stamp sales, particularly through its website.

The survey was conducted April 15-17, the full results were published on the USPS website.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.