Turnover of parcel market went up, turnover of postal market remained stable
Summary
- Number of parcel lockers increased over 90 percent.
- Volume of postal market decreased, turnover was stable.
- Reliability of the postal market remains below the statutory requirement.
In 2025, the volume of the postal market further decreased compared with the year before, whereas the number of parcels continued to go up. The reliability of mail-delivery quality has remained stable, and was, once again, well below the statutory requirement. These are some of the conclusions of the annual Postal and Parcel Markets Scan (external website) of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).
The number of letters sent in 2025 dropped 5 percent to 1.486 million postal items. This drop fits in the trend of a shrinking postal market. However, the turnover on the postal market has gone up slightly as a result of price increases. Like in the previous year, the reliability of mail-delivery quality in 2025 (86 percent) was well below the requirement of 95 percent. That means that a lot of mail arrives late. This is reflected in the number of reports filed with ACM about mail-delivery quality.
Another quality factor is the availability of drop boxes (or collection boxes) and service locations. The number of drop boxes went down: in 2025, 788 drop boxes were removed. In that context, the statutory requirements were met.
Parcel market continues to grow
The number of parcels sent went up again last year. However, the growth of the Dutch (domestic) parcel market was 0.9 percent, which is far less than the growth of the international parcel market. In 2025, 447 million parcels were sent abroad, which is an increase of 7.4 percent. The increase is partially driven by parcels coming from online stores, primarily in Asia. It is striking that 3 in 10 parcels are sent from the Netherlands to another country. This is related to the central role that Dutch seaports and airports play in Europe.
The rise of parcel lockers continued in 2025. The number of parcel lockers doubled to almost 9,309 (+90.6 percent). In 2025, 82.2 percent of all parcels were delivered to the home, 12.4 percent were picked up at a service location, and 5.3 percent went through another location, for example a parcel locker.
ACM’s role in the postal market
ACM is statutorily charged with oversight over the quality of the universal service obligation (USO). Approximately 18 percent of all national and international mail that is sent falls under the USO. The national mail volume consists of approximately 5 percent consumer mail and 95 percent business mail. The majority of business mail (including mail from government organizations) is not statutorily protected. The parcel market is not regulated either, and is therefore not subject to ACM’s oversight.
Each year, ACM publishes the Postal and Parcel Markets Scan, by order of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK). In this Scan, ACM provides an overview of the trends and developments in the sector. The Scan can be accessed through an interactive dashboard.