The US Postal Service lets customers digitally preview their mail (the physical kind) through its new Informed Delivery service, and today it announced that people can sign up for emails that include package tracking information.
“More than seven million Informed Delivery users who opt-in to receive email notifications can now view their mail in their daily digest emails and also see tracking information about the expected delivery of their packages.”
In addition to tracking the delivery of their packages, users can also manage package deliveries by leaving delivery instructions or scheduling redelivery from the online Informed Delivery dashboard.
“Our customers can now use their Informed Delivery emails to see the delivery status of their incoming packages and when they’re expected to arrive,” explained Production Innovation Vice President Gary Reblin. “It’s another example of how Informed Delivery is meeting customers’ needs.”
However, one could see how that could be both a benefit and a challenge to online sellers. A benefit, since buyers could make changes to ensure a safer delivery of their order. A challenge, since it could mean a later delivery date, for which marketplaces could ding them.
Note that in October, security expert Brian Krebs warned that security experts “worry about the service’s potential for misuse by private investigators, identity thieves, stalkers or abusive ex-partners.”
Sounds like a good thing for those that have to sit in front of their computer and watch to as the package moves from point a to point b.
We could care less. Tracking is for the seller to prove that the buyer got it not for entertainment of buyer to whine about when the package gets way laid in some far away place.