Post & Parcel Germany division

The postal service for Germany

The core business of the Post & Parcel Germany division is the transport, sorting and delivery of documents and goods shipments in Germany. We operate a nationwide post and parcel network in Germany, which we continually expand in consideration of digitalization and sustainability.

Our products and services in the mail communication segment are targeted toward both private and business customers and range from physical and hybrid letters to additional services such as registered mail, insured items, redirection and storage. The product portfolio is regularly adjusted to market requirements.

In the 2025 fiscal year, the German market for mail communication for business customers was worth around €4.0 billion (previous year: around €3.8 billion). The increase resulted primarily from our price rises as of January 1, 2025. Meanwhile, volumes fell, mainly due to the continued substitution of traditional letter mail with electronic communication. This competitive market is made up of both alternative delivery service providers as well as consolidation service providers who deliver their mail volumes to Deutsche Post AG. At 63.8%, our market share in 2025 was approximately level with the previous year (63.6%).

End-to-end solutions for advertisers

On request, Post & Parcel Germany offers advertisers end-to-end solutions in the Dialogue Marketing segment, ranging from address services and tools for design and creation to printing, delivery and evaluation. This supports cross-channel, personalized and automated dialogue to deliver digital and physical items with interrelated content according to a coordinated timetable and without any coverage waste.

The German advertising market increased by 2.4% in 2025 to come in at €30.7 billion. This growth was somewhat lower than in the previous year (2.6%) and was primarily attributable to higher investment in digital forms of advertising. Our share of the highly fragmented digital and physical German advertising market amounted to 4.9% (previous year: 5.1%).

DHL Parcel for companies and private individuals

We maintain the densest network of parcel acceptance and drop-off points in Germany, which was expanded further and automated in the 2025 fiscal year.

We offer support to businesses to grow their online retail business. To maximize customer benefits, we consistently align our product and service portfolio with market requirements. Working together with the Supply Chain division, we are able on request to cover the entire logistics chain through to returns management.

Various services enable individualized parcel delivery for private customers: Parcels can be delivered to an alternative address, a specific retail outlet or a Paketshop, Packstation or Poststation at short notice. This ability to individually select delivery options and notifications makes receiving a parcel more convenient and more transparent.

The German parcel market continues to be subject to competition-driven structural changes, with established as well as new companies offering their services. In e-commerce, the delivery of a portion of shipments is handled by the merchant’s own distribution networks. There has been no interruption in the medium- and long-term growth trend in the number of online orders. In light of this as well, we are continuously expanding our network. With additional Packstations and Poststations, we plan to make it even more convenient for customers all over Germany to send and receive parcels in the coming years.

Fundamental dependence on the global economy and geopolitics

The letter mail business is primarily being influenced by the long-term trend toward digital communication and less by the economic situation in Germany. Economic momentum in Germany is relevant in relation to advertising spend, which affects the Dialogue Marketing segment. Here too, digital substitution presents a structural challenge. Parcel volumes, meanwhile, are being shaped by the generally positive trend toward e-commerce. They also reflect potential variations in consumer behavior in Germany. We are addressing the two fundamental trends in letter mail and parcels with a long-term transformation of the division.

Seasonality of business

The Post & Parcel Germany division exhibits clear seasonality, which is predominantly shaped by fluctuations in parcel volumes. Parcel business typically sees increasing momentum beginning in late summer/fall, with a very pronounced peak season in the fourth quarter. This volume effect is further amplified in revenue by seasonal surcharges, which have applied since 2024. Letter mail business, meanwhile, continues to follow a structural downward trend that masks seasonal effects.

Reliable service in a challenging environment

According to surveys by the quality research institute Quotas, an average of around 97% of domestic letters posted in Germany were delivered within three working days and around 99% within four working days after the date of posting in the 2025 fiscal year. We are therefore meeting or exceeding the legal requirements of at least 95% and 99%, respectively, which came into effect at the beginning of 2025. These figures can be deemed very positive, particularly in light of the challenging environment in which they were achieved.

Our approximately 24,000 person-operated sales points were open for an average of 55 hours per week in the year under review, as was the case in the previous year. Consumers who use the products and services offered by Deutsche Post retail outlets operated mostly by retailers are surveyed annually regarding customer satisfaction by “Kundenmonitor Deutschland.” This study attested to the high level of approval enjoyed by Deutsche Post retail outlets: as in the previous year, around 95% of the people surveyed were satisfied with the quality and service in 2025. The fixed-location acceptance and sales network has grown to around 41,000 sites thanks to the expansion of our Packstation and Poststation network (previous year: more than 39,000).