Not everyone is upset about the recent one cent postage increase. According to a group that represents small businesses, the penny increase is reason for some companies to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Alliance of Independent Store Owners and Professionals says that, while previous increases have been the undoing of some small businesses, its members can live with the new rates. AISOP is a Minneapolis-based organization representing small business retailers, service providers and professionals who depend on advertising mail to distribute coupons and ads to customers, as well as the mailers who serve them.
“Huge advertising mail rate increases in the past hurt many small businesses and even put some out of business,” says Donna Hanbery, AISOP’s executive director.
According to AISOP, the Postal Service in the past has been pressured to keep first-class rates down, often to the detriment of mail advertisers. The increase in advertising mail rates—about 2 percent—is lower than the rate of inflation, says AISOP, and affordable for advertising mail users. Further, AISOP says it hopes the latest increase is indicative of the Postal Service’s willingness to keep its increases “predictable and affordable.”
