New Zealand Post has announced they'll be increasing the cost of sending a domestic letter by 20 cents.
Photo: 123RF
The cost of sending a domestic letter will now cost $1.20, while the cost of large mail will rise by 40 cents and oversized packages by 60 cents.
The increase follows a $20 million revenue decline in the six months to December 2017.
New Zealand Post figures reveal 38 million less letters were delivered in comparison to that same period in 2016.
Chief marketing officer Bryan Dobson said he hoped the rise would set New Zealand Post up for the future and maintain the network of over 880 postal outlets.
"We acknowledge this represents a change, and we have worked very hard to reduce operational costs to minimise impact on customers who value and depend on this service," he said.
"Careful consideration has been taken in making these pricing decisions, however given the letter decline challenges NZ Post faces they are necessary."
The increase will come into effect on 1 July and is just one of several price changes set to take place.
Grey Power national president Tom O'Connor said he did not think the rise would have a negative impact on the elderly.
"I guess it's not unexpected... We live in a changing world and posting letters by the traditional method of a paper envelope with a stamp on is probably not as popular as it used to be," he said.
"Whether changing from $1.00 to $1.20 ... will make any difference to the number of letters that they send I really couldn't say."
