I think itās an interesting question and Iāve thought about it many times.
Because if stamps werenāt so expensive, more people would send more mail. Iām sure there are people in those companies who have known that for a long time. That signal will get louder over the years. Because those people will also lose their jobs if the post office stops sending letters and cards.
I would send more mail if the stamps were cheaper.
If I remember correctly, I recently saw a post from a country (Australia?) where the stamps became cheaper. Who knows, other countries will follow this good idea, especially if the number of letters and cards increases again as a result.
Moreover, people are becoming more and more aware of all kinds of things. That data centers also pollute the environment. Mail is perhaps safer than the internet (a letter is less likely to be hacked. Not all your data from a letter is stored, sold and misused, etc.). That letters and cards are important in social contacts.. There is no alternative to that.
A lot is ordered online, but the costs for sending are high. And you donāt even get it at home in many countries, you have to pick it up. Itās for me a reason not to buy things online sometimes. I then wait until Iām in town and can buy it at the store. Or Iām looking for an alternative product that I can buy in a store. Or I ask if someone can take it for me. Iām sure Iām not the only one looking for cheaper solutions.
If people order less online, this will have several consequences. There will be more pressure from companies to make shipping affordable again. And postal companies get into financial problems. Now maybe they can stop delivering letters and cards, because they earn money with parcels, but if that declines, they have a problem.
And if you want to make sending mail more attractive, letters, postcards, parcels, how can you develop? By providing service again and bringing the mail home instead of to a collection point. Or not every other day, but every day. Or not only during the week but also during the weekend.
There are also companies that send as much as possible by regular mail instead of parcels. Perhaps more and more companies will try to send products by regular mail, if possible. Because thatās cheaper. What will they do if regular mail is no longer delivered to people?
In addition to printing labels and standard stamps, in many countries you can also have your own stamps made with your own photo or logo of your company. Maybe that will increase over the years.
Even though less mail is being sent, the amount of mail that goes around the world every day is still very large. (I think).
Who knows, maybe it will be privatized and there will be more options for sending and delivering mail. Perhaps there will be several postal companies that have a certain service or focus. Who work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so you can have mail delivered to someone during the weekend. Or only in a country or a few countries (So that you have to put mail to different areas in different mailboxes and one becomes cheaper and the other may be more expensive). Or a company that brings the parcels from the collection point to your home. Or ?? I donāt know, Iām just thinking out loud
No one knows how it will develop, but I think a solution will come (just) in time, so that it will continue to exist.
At least I hope so, because I believe that letters and cards are very important for people to be happy.