SingPost closes 12 post offices in two years, pivots to new service model

It is seeking to meet evolving consumer demands in fast-changing digital landscape

- Chin Soo Fang

National postal service provider Singapore Post has closed 12 post offices, or one in five branches, in the past two years.

This comes as the company struggles with declining mail volumes as most people turn to electronic communication instead.

Five of the shuttered post office branches were in malls, including Suntec City, Northpoint City and Westgate, while the rest were either standalone branches or found in community clubs, office buildings or Housing Board blocks. SingPost has 44 post offices remaining.

A SingPost spokesperson told The Straits Times that adjustments will be made to some post offices and locations to ensure postal services remain cost-effective and relevant. This is part of business transformation efforts to meet evolving consumer demands in a rapidly changing digital landscape, said the spokesperson.

One of the most recent branches to cease operations was the one at The Clementi Mall, which had operated for 11 years before it closed on Sept 20. The nearest alternative branch is a 15-minute bus ride away - in Clementi West Street 2, near West Coast Plaza.

The Clementi Mall branch was quiet with only a few customers when ST visited on its last day. Assistant branch manager Nurlaini Jalaini, who had worked there for all 11 years of the branch's history, told ST she would be redeployed to the Jurong Point branch.

"I had been telling regular customers to come see us before the outlet closes," said the 39-year-old. "I will miss my colleagues and the customers."