Swiss Post to increase letter and parcel prices from the start of 2024

Swiss Post has reached an agreement to increase letter and parcel prices in consultation with the price regulator: as of 1 January 2024, an A Mail letter in standard format will cost 1.20 francs (previously 1.10 francs), and a B Mail letter will cost 1 franc (previously 90 centimes). An Economy parcel up to 2 kg will now cost 8.50 francs (previously 7 francs), a Priority parcel 10.50 francs (previously 9 francs). The agreement between Swiss Post and the price regulator includes further price measures and service extensions. (Details in the table below).

Declining letter volumes and inpayments, together with inflation, mean price increases are unavoidable

Letter volumes have declined by about a third overall over the past ten years. At the same time, Swiss Post has to serve more and more households. This means that each individual letter incurs ever higher costs. Over-the-counter transactions at Swiss Post branches are also declining, with payment transactions decreasing by 15 percent in 2022 alone. Added to this is high inflation, which Swiss Post has also been affected by: the costs for fuel, energy, transport, materials and salaries have risen considerably, and in the current year, Swiss Post will bear these itself. Roberto Cirillo, CEO of Swiss Post, says: “The additional costs resulting from the decline in letters and transactions at the counter, as well as from inflation, are huge for Swiss Post. We can no longer afford all of these on our own. This is why these price increases are urgently needed for Swiss Post.”

Swiss Post also has to tighten its belt

The mutual agreement with the price regulator is a compromise: the price increases are significantly lower in total than the package of measures Swiss Post originally submitted to the price regulator. “The price increases cannot fully compensate for the increased costs and future declines in letters and over-the-counter transactions. This means we will also have to tighten our belts,” underlines Cirillo. In specific terms, Swiss Post will need to become even more efficient and exceed its set savings target of 300 million francs by 2030. Swiss Post’s CEO attaches particular importance to quality: “Our top priority is to maintain our high quality in all parts of Switzerland, despite the efficiency measures.” Just last month, the Federal confirmed that Swiss Post had once again exceeded the targets for the universal service in terms of quality and accessibility.