U.S. Postal Service to Expand Simplified Addressing for Businesses

In a move that is expected to help businesses grow — especially small businesses who currently don't use the mail because they can't afford it — and garner millions of dollars in new revenue for the U.S. Postal Service, the agency announced today that it is easing the rules on simplified addressing to allow businesses to begin using the format on city delivery routes.

Simplified addressing enables business mailers to use mail delivery route information, instead of names and exact addresses, to reach target customer groups in specific areas. It has long been an accepted addressing option on rural routes and for government mailings.

Effective Jan. 2, 2011, simplified addressing will be expanded for use on saturation flat-size mailpieces and irregular parcels delivered on city routes. (Saturation mail is mail that is delivered to every address within a geographic area, and flat-size mail includes large envelopes and fliers often used for advertising. Irregular parcels, such as rolls and tubes, are parcels that cannot be processed on automated equipment because of their unique shape.)

While the expansion of simplified addressing does not change existing prices or classification standards for Standard Mail flats, it can lower costs by reducing mail preparation time and eliminating the need to purchase address lists and on-press printing. (Standard Mail offers a lower price on postage in return for the commercial mailer doing extra preparation work, such as presorting the mailing.)

"Simplified addressing will help local small and midsize businesses as well as large businesses drive more traffic and attract new customers," said Paul Vogel, president and chief marketing/sales officer. "This can help strengthen the U.S. economy as well as our organization, the U.S. Postal Service, which is doing everything it can to drive revenue growth."

The simplified addressing option enables business mailers, in most instances, to conveniently address mailpieces to "Postal Customer" when complete coverage on any designated delivery route is intended.

"Simplified addressing will serve as the on-ramp for many small businesses trying to reach their audiences within a specific geographic range," said Vogel. "It will allow them for the first time to take advantage of the most effective marketing channel there is — direct mail."