The Swiss economy has been struggling since the coronavirus lockdown in March. Swiss Post takes its responsibility as a reliable partner seriously and will not make adjustments to list prices for the mass parcel and letter delivery business in 2021. The move follows relief measures already announced, such as rent reductions for businesses in Swiss Post properties and the COVID-19 bridging loans from PostFinance that have been approved by the Federal Council on a temporary basis.

In addition, Swiss Post is voluntarily continuing the discount on parcels addressed online for a further year. The initial arrangement had been limited by the price regulator to a one-year period only. In 2021, customers will therefore continue to receive a discount of CHF 1.50 per parcel for parcels weighing up to 10 kilograms that are entered online. Parcels weighing up to 30 kilograms will receive an online discount of CHF 3.

The market and Swiss Post’s own economic situation mean that price adjustments to parcel and letter services will be necessary in the coming years. The standard of quality and universal service coverage remain unchanged, as do the structural costs of the services. The volume of letters and over-the-counter transactions has been declining for years, and low interest rates at PostFinance mean that Swiss Post’s operating profits have continuously fallen in recent years. The digitization of communication channels has led to volumes declining over the years, particularly in letter mail – while A and B Mail prices have remained the same for 16 years.