Qual­i­ty mon­i­tor­ing

• Study of parcel delivery speeds and service quality
• Letter delivery speeds
• Deutsche Post AG's post offices
• Deutsche Post AG's postboxes
• Monthly household expenditure on letter and parcel services

The data include the results of delivery speed measurements, processing and evaluating data on postboxes as well as data on post offices and postal retail outlets. The data enable the Bundesnetzagentur to make a reliable assessment of the current situation and quality of service in the postal market. In addition, the complaints received by the Bundesnetzagentur provide an insight into potential problems in specific areas. The Bundesnetzagentur publishes a variety of these quality indicators on its website.

Study of parcel delivery speeds and service quality

The Bundesnetzagentur commissioned Spectos GmbH and WIK-Consult GmbH to collect and evaluate data on parcel delivery speeds and service quality in Germany covering the period from July 2021 to June 2022. The key findings of the study are set out in the report:

Study of the delivery speed and delivery service quality of parcel mail items (pdf / 1 MB)

Letter delivery speeds

The Postal Universal Service Ordinance (PUDLV) sets requirements for the speed of delivery of letters: on average over the year, at least 80% of domestic letters posted on a working day must be delivered on the next working day (D + 1) and 95% must be delivered within two working days (D + 2).

Deutsche Post AG presents the results of its delivery speed measurements to the Bundesnetzagentur on a quarterly basis. An external independent quality and market research institute certified by TÜV Rheinland conducts the measurements in line with the DIN EN 13850 standard.

Deutsche Post AG's delivery speeds

Deutsche Post AG makes a distinction between delivery speeds from the customer's perspective and from the operator's perspective.

Deutsche Post AG's post offices

Fixed-location facilities

Business premises in which letter services can be contracted are referred to in the PUDLV as fixed-location facilities. These include post offices, postal retail outlets and other retail outlets operated by postal operators. Under the PUDLV, there must be at least 12,000 fixed-location facilities, and there must be at least one fixed-location facility in municipalities with more than 2,000 inhabitants. Deutsche Post AG alone operates more than 12,000 post offices and postal retail outlets. Its competitors also operate retail outlets in various towns and municipalities.

Average weekly opening hours

The chart shows Deutsche Post AG’s facilities’ average weekly opening hours. It only includes post offices and postal retail outlets covered by the statutory requirements in the PUDLV. It does not include parcel shop opening times. No data are available for the period from 2005 to 2010. There was no change in the data between 2020 and 2021. (Source: Deutsche Post AG)

Postal outlet vacancies

The following figures were last updated on 1 July 2024.

The Bundesnetzagentur is aware of 141 locations that are non-compliant with postal law for not having a postal outlet or agency in operation.

While the number of these vacancies fell in 2023 from 174 (as at 31 January 2023) to 73 (as at 13 October 2023), the figure increased again at the beginning of 2024. This increase continued from 125 in the first half of 2024 (as at 23 February 2024) to 141 (as at 1 July 2024).
Of the 141 locations without a postal outlet, 27 have a self-service kiosk (“Poststation”), which offer more or less the same postal services as universal service outlets. Under the old Postal Act (PostG), which was in force until 18 July 2024, a self-service kiosk did not suffice for ensuring the provision of basic services on site. However, under the new PostG the Bundesnetzagentur may in the future allow some self-service kiosks in place of universal service outlets.

The Bundesnetzagentur is not aware of any specific reasons behind the trend of vacant postal outlets. Experience has shown that many of these locations are only temporarily vacant within the range of typical and anticipated fluctuation.

List of mandatory locations that are vacant (as at 1 July 2024)

Deutsche Post AG's postboxes

Deutsche Post AG's postboxes

The figures only include the postboxes that were accessible to customers at the end of each year. They do not include postboxes that were out of use temporarily (for instance because of construction works or seasonal operation). Under the PUDLV, there must be enough postboxes so that customers in urban areas are generally no farther than 1,000 metres away from a postbox. Deutsche Post AG’s postboxes met these statutory requirements in the period up to the end of 2021. Its competitors also have postboxes in various towns and municipalities, although they are not covered by the PUDLV.

Deutsche Post AG's postbox collection times

The figures only include the postboxes that were accessible to customers at the end of each year. They do not include postboxes that were out of use temporarily (for instance because of construction works or seasonal operation). Under the PUDLV, collection times must take business and economic needs into account. The Bundesnetzagentur regularly reviews these collection times. An increasing number of Deutsche Post AG’s postboxes only show morning collection times.

Monthly household expenditure on letter and parcel services

Source: Federal Statistical Office, household surveys, data from the continuous household budget surveys and sample surveys of household income and expenditure

The per-household monthly expenditure on letter services and on parcel services is calculated by the Federal Statistical Office on the basis of its continuous household budget surveys. The total expenditure on postal services shown is the sum of the expenditure on letter services and the expenditure on parcel services. Every five years, a sample survey of household income and expenditure is carried out instead of a continuous household budget survey. The total expenditure on postal services for 2008, 2013 and 2018 is therefore based on the sample survey of household income and expenditure. There is no exact explanation why total expenditure in these three years was higher than in other years. It could be due to the size of the samples (approximately 8,000 households in the continuous surveys and approximately 50,000 to 60,000 households in the sample surveys) or because the five-yearly sample surveys also include self-employed persons while the continuous surveys only include private households.