U.S. Postal Service Inks Deal With 1-800-FLOWERS.COM For Metro Post Same Day Delivery

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Dec 20, 2012, 12:32 ET

New service trial launches in San Francisco just in time for the holidays

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service has announced a strategic alliance for Metro Post® with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM®, the world's leading florist and gift shop. Metro Post is a same day delivery service trial that launched today in San Francisco, just in time for last minute gift ideas during the holidays.

"Metro Post is a premium delivery service that will revolutionize the shipping industry," said Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. "Building relationships with prominent retailers like 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will help us leverage our capabilities by making same day delivery a standard option on retail websites."

Metro Post is designed to improve the experience of customers shopping on e-commerce sites by offering same day delivery in a metro area. The market test in San Francisco is expected to run for one year.

Metro Post will be available for purchases involving four of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM's gourmet gift brands, including popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory®; cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's®; premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May® fine chocolates; and gift baskets and towers from 1-800-Baskets.com®.

Consumers can utilize the Metro Post premium service online or in-person at a retail store that carries the company's branded gift items. The daily cut-off time for purchases delivered by Metro Post is 2:00 p.m. with deliveries to occur between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

"At 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, we're all about helping our customers deliver smiles, said Chris McCann, President, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. "We've been doing it with same-day floral deliveries for more than 35 years and now with the Postal Service's Metro Post service, we're very excited to be able to expand our same-day gift offerings to include some of our great gourmet food brands."

Reblin added, "The Postal Service is committed to building and driving strategic relationships to improve our customers' experience. USPS will work with multiple retailers that have both an online presence and physical 'brick and mortar' stores or warehouses within a given metro area."

Additional information on the Postal Service's premium same day delivery service can be found at www.usps.com/metropost/. Broadcast quality video highlighting the delivery process for Metro Post is available for media use at http://www.uspsvideo.com/.

The U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Developing exciting new products and services is essential to realizing the Postal Service's goals of expanding customer access and achieving financial sustainability.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service