Flyer Delivery During The Canada Post Strike
Flyer Delivery During the Canada Post Strike: Navigating Unprecedented Challenges
The Canada Post strike, which began on November 15, 2024, has brought flyer delivery services to a grinding halt nationwide, disrupting businesses and charities across the country. This strike couldn’t have come at a worse time — just before Black Friday and the holiday season, a period that typically accounts for a significant portion of annual revenue for countless businesses.
As a company deeply embedded in the flyer delivery industry, we’re facing enormous challenges. With six figures worth of printed materials sitting in warehouses, waiting to be delivered, this situation has forced us and many others to rethink how to get flyers into the hands of homeowners and businesses during this critical time. Let’s explore the full impact of this strike, the alternative strategies being tested, and the long-term implications for flyer delivery in Canada.
The Canada Post Strike: A Perfect Storm of Disruption
On November 15, 2024, more than 55,000 Canada Post workers began a nationwide strike after negotiations failed. The workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), are demanding wage increases to match inflation, better cost-of-living adjustments, and improved working conditions. While the strike reflects important labor issues, its timing has wreaked havoc across industries reliant on postal services.
Key Statistics:
Businesses Impacted: Over 400,000 businesses in Canada rely on Canada Post for direct mail and flyer delivery.
Economic Losses: It’s estimated that the strike could cost Canadian businesses up to $1 billion in lost revenue during the holiday season alone.
Backlogs: Even after the strike ends, the backlog of undelivered mail and parcels is expected to take weeks, if not months, to clear.
For flyer delivery companies like ours, the impact is immediate and severe. With six figures worth of printed materials — flyers dated for specific holiday campaigns — now undeliverable, this is obviously going to result in significant loss.
How the Strike Is Impacting Businesses and Charities
For many businesses, flyer distribution is their primary marketing tool. Flyers drive foot traffic to retail stores, promote special deals, and generate leads for services. With distribution now halted:
Black Friday Sales Are in Jeopardy: Small businesses rely on pre-holiday flyer campaigns to generate the revenue needed to sustain them through slower seasons. Without this crucial marketing channel, many businesses are anticipating a sharp decline in sales.
Charities Are Suffering: Charitable organizations, which often depend on direct mail campaigns to solicit year-end holiday donations, are also facing significant shortfalls. This disruption means fewer resources to support the communities they serve.
The True Results: The true issue will arise once flyers delivered before the strike stop yielding results. Campaigns take some time to generate results, as of now, companies are surviving based off the revenue generated from previous distributions, as those clients are coming in the doors now. This lack of marketing potential will affect next months revenue far more then this month, especially for service based businesses where social media marketing often costs 3x more to see the same results. Not to mention the extended costing companies must pay for alternate methods of delivery such as FedEx or Purolator.
Case in Point:
One of our clients, a chain of local retailers, typically sees a 70% increase in sales during Black Friday and the holidays, largely thanks to flyer campaigns. Without timely distribution, they are projecting a 20% drop in revenue compared to three months ago, and a 52.9% drop compared to revenue this time last year. This is the time where sales peak, and having a limb cut off at this time will affect the business for the entire year, especially when sales are far slower and payroll must still be met. Our clients have lost millions due to the strike already, and the effects of this have yet to be confirmed. We will write a follow up blog one month from now with the true effects and numbers of the loss of sales due to the strike.
Our Efforts to Navigate the Crisis
At Flyer Canada, we’ve taken swift action to minimize the damage caused by the strike. Recognizing the need for alternative solutions, we are:
1. Testing Door-to-Door Delivery Companies
We are currently evaluating dozens of door-to-door flyer delivery companies to determine their reliability and coverage. While promising, these services present unique challenges:
Limited Coverage: Many of these companies operate only in specific regions, leaving large swaths of the country without service.
Higher Costs: Alternative delivery methods can cost multiples more Canada Post’s rates, making them difficult to justify for businesses operating on tight margins.
Reliability Concerns: Reliability concerns are at the top of our mind with these tests. 9/10 companies fail to pass even our initial test, with even more failing to pass secondary requirements in this trial phase. The cost for the reliable companies are expensive, and we suggest only using this if absolutely necessary.
How We Test Them:
We give them a small amount of flyers, 5k for an initial trial, in which 9/10 companies fail (we reprint the flyers for the failed tests on behalf of the clients). We then provide a larger order, 25k, to prove that this was not a one-off event. If both tests are passed, then we continue giving them all incoming orders for the area. So far, only a handful of companies in select areas have passed our tests, and we are providing coverage (at a much higher unit price) for those areas.
2. Strategic Coverage in Select Areas
To maximize impact, we’re focusing on key regions where alternative delivery services are available. This ensures that at least some of our clients’ campaigns reach their intended audiences during this crucial period.
3. Maintaining Operations Despite Challenges
Even with no orders coming in, we’ve made the decision to keep all our employees on payroll. This commitment to our team comes at a cost but reflects our belief in supporting our workforce during tough times.
The Ripple Effect: What Happens After the Strike?
Even after the strike ends, the consequences will linger:
Backlog Delays: Canada Post has already indicated that it will take weeks, if not months, to clear the backlog of undelivered mail. This means businesses will face continued delays, well into the new year.
Lost Momentum: For businesses that miss the critical Black Friday and holiday periods, the damage to revenue and customer relationships could take months to repair.
Higher Costs for All: With alternative delivery services in high demand, prices are unlikely to return to pre-strike levels anytime soon.
Looking Ahead: Preparing for a New Reality
This strike has exposed vulnerabilities in the flyer delivery industry and underscored the importance of diversification. Moving forward, we are committed to:
Expanding Partnerships: We will continue building relationships with alternative delivery providers to ensure more robust coverage in the future.
Investing in Technology: Tools like geotargeting and digital marketing can complement traditional flyer campaigns, providing clients with additional channels to reach their audiences.
Advocating for Change: The industry needs greater resilience, and we are committed to working with stakeholders to ensure that disruptions like this have less impact in the future.
Conclusion
The Canada Post strike is a stark reminder of how interconnected our economy is and how fragile supply chains can be. At Flyer Canada, we remain dedicated to supporting our clients and finding innovative solutions to navigate these challenges.
To our clients, businesses, and charities impacted by this crisis, know that we are doing everything in our power to ensure your campaigns succeed. We are realizing that, although the Crown corporation certainly has a very powerful system in place, a well priced system to deliver results, we will invest in finding alternate methods of delivery to ensure that service delays like this do not occur again.
For flyer delivery options after the strike, or to explore alternative flyer delivery options during this time, please reach out to us at flyercanada.ca/contact or at 437-524-5287. We’re here to help.
