Modernising post offices: how Omniva is reinventing an outdated concept for the 21st century
When was the last time you visited a post office? Did it feel like going back in time?
Recent decades have seen an explosion of new forms of parcel delivery, from door-to-door services to store pick-up and last-mile delivery robots. As ecommerce retailers increasingly offer a range of delivery options to meet consumers’ preferences, the demand for traditional postal services has been trending down for a while.
This was the reality the international postal services and logistics company Omniva was facing before coming up with their new Post Office of the Future concept.
Offering sustainable packaging is a key part of the concept, and we’re glad to share that now you can buy Wool Envelopes at Omniva’s Post Offices of the Future.
We had a chat with Sandra Krusel and Siim Tammesalu from Omniva’s Retail Experience team to find out more about the Post Offices of the Future concept and how well consumers have received it.
Omniva’s journey from traditional postal services to becoming a modern logistics company
The roots of Omniva (previously called Eesti Post, i.e. Estonian Mail) can be traced back to the 17th century, when its predecessor started the postal service in Estonia. In fact, for most of the years since then, traditional postal services have been the core focus of the company.
In recent years, however, Omniva has transformed into an international company whose services and ambitions are a whole lot bigger than just postal services.
As stated on their website, Omniva strives to be the preferred logistics operator that offers seamless omnichannel experiences.
Sandra Krusel, the Assortment Manager in the Retail Experience team, shares that at the core of the company’s transformation is a new way of thinking about Omniva’s services that can be summed up in two words: delivering happiness.
“On a superficial level, it may seem like we just offer a practical service of delivering parcels and letters,” says Sandra. “But we think of every delivery as something that can offer joy to the consumers.”
This way of thinking is also at the core of the Post Offices of the Future. “As we strive to offer excellent customer experience across our channels and services, we realised post offices need an overhaul,” shares Siim Tammesalu, Head of Retail Experience at Omniva.
“The traditional post office needs to be redefined.”
– Siim Tammesalu, Head of Retail Experience at Omniva
Instead of going full Marie Kondo and getting rid of post offices altogether, the Post Offices of the Future were designed with the needs of the modern consumer in mind.
At the centre of this is everything related to ecommerce and postal services, but also an extended selection of sustainable packaging materials and a gift shop.
Making sustainable packaging accessible to all
Even before the first Post Office of the Future piloted at the end of 2022, Omniva offered sustainable packaging on their online store. Now, a selection is also available at the post offices for anyone to purchase.
“Sustainability is a key part of the entire concept,” shares Siim. “The new post offices have a variety of sustainable packaging solutions available for purchase, and we also introduced a “take it or leave it” section, where customers can leave their used packaging for others to reuse.”
Sandra adds that thinking about circularity is important, too: “We prefer to offer circular packaging whenever possible, but we also realise it’s unrealistic to limit our options to only reusable packaging at a time when the industry is going through a sustainability-oriented transformation.”
As Wool Envelopes are a part of the selection at the Post Offices of the Future, we were of course curious to find out how much interest consumers have shown for sustainable packaging.
“Wool Envelopes have been received very well, both by our online store customers and those visiting the Post Offices of the Future.”
– Sandra Krusel, Assortment Manager at Omniva
Siim also points out that consumers have exceeded their expectations regarding prioritising sustainability over price: “When it comes to sustainable postal packaging, people seem to be less price sensitive than we thought.”
Mart Mägi (Chairman Of The Executive Board at Omniva, left) and Urmas Klaas (Mayor of Tartu, right) at the opening of Omniva’s eighth Post Office of the Future in Tartu.
What does the future hold for post offices?
To date, Omniva has opened eight Post Offices of the Future. At the same time, they currently still operate a network of more than 131 post offices across Estonia.
“Our plan is to reorganise the current post offices network in a way where we will have a total of 40+ new-age post offices,” shares Siim. “This requires careful planning, especially when it comes to locations, as we want to be as accessible as possible to everyone in Estonia.”
Siim also emphasises that the Post Offices of the Future concept remains a work in progress. “You can think of it in this way: we have created a place for serving the needs of modern postal services,” he says. “And we will keep looking for new solutions and services that fit well at this stage.”
