Demand for parcel services continues to grow

In the third quarter of 2021, there were 5.8 percent more parcel services than in the previous quarter and 14.3 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

ZAGREB, 2 December 2021 – In the postal services market of the Republic of Croatia, in the third quarter of 2021, the number of parcels continued to grow. A total of 7.7 million various parcel services has been achieved, which now accounts for 12 percent of the total postal market, the greatest number so far. The growth in the number of parcels partly refers to the accelerated change in consumer habits due to a pandemic, where an increasing number of consumers use online e- commerce, with the delivery of purchased goods often carried out by postal service providers. Demand for these services is expected to grow further.

At the same time, the total number of all postal services provided in the amount of 64.2 million is expectedly decreasing, which is 2.7 percent compared to the previous quarter and 5.2 percent less compared to the same period last year.

International traffic remains under the influence of the pandemic. In the third quarter of the year  an additional negative impact had the entry into force of the EU legislative framework on the abolition of VAT exemptions when importing consignments with a value of up to 22 euros from non-EU countries, resulting in a further fall in the number of services in the international traffic. In the third quarter of 2021, there were 19.2 percent less services than in the previous quarter, which is 22.3 percent less than in the same period of the previous year.

The total revenue from postal services provided remained almost the same in comparison with the previous quarter, but in relation to the same period of the previous year, the growth was 7.2 percent, primarily due to the increased number of value-added services.

During the third quarter of 2021, two new postal service providers were registered to provide interchangeable postal services, so that 25 providers currently provide their services in the market.

The data on the postal services market are available on the website of the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) via the following link.