USPS to offer next-day Sunday delivery during holiday rush

The U.S. Postal Service will offer a new holiday delivery service in 20 major cities in partnership with undisclosed retailers in an effort to get ahead of the holiday rush, according to a report from the Associated Press.    The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is planning to offer next-day service with packages delivered Sundays during the holiday delivery period, according to a report from the Associated Press.
   The program will be available in 20 major U.S. cities and will allow consumers to place online orders with participating retailers before a cutoff time Saturday. Postal carriers would then pick up merchandise from local stores for delivery the following day, similar to the Sunday package deliveries currently handled for Amazon, the Associated Press said. The participating cities and retailers have yet to be disclosed. However, Walmart has announced it is considering a similar plan as it competes with major e-commerce retailers like Amazon, multiple reports say. 
   Recent reports project USPS will handle a record number of parcels this year, thanks to e-commerce growth and its extensive last-mile network.
   Nearly 850 million U.S. parcels are expected to be delivered from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, a 13 percent increase over last year, according to figures compiled by industry tracker ShipMatrix for the Associated Press. The increase may allow USPS to capture 45.6 percent of the market share in peak holiday deliveries, said ShipMatrix.