GOING POSTAL A BIT EASIER THIS SEASON.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Cranky holiday shoppers bound for the post office to mail gifts can leave their magazines and Walkmans in the car: The U.S. Postal Service says long holiday lines could be a thing of Christmas past.

At the Van Nuys Main Post Office on Monday - the biggest package day of the year because of deadlines for overseas shipping - the lunchtime line breezed through the gates. At the same time last year, the line was long enough to read a chapter of ``War and Peace.''

``It's just astounding,'' said Dana Hack, 38, of Van Nuys. ``Usually, (the line is) out the door. This is terrific.''

Thanks to a spike in online purchases, convenient self-serve shipping at U.S. post offices and the growing popularity of private couriers, the lines are already shrinking. Extended hours - from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays - also help.

``I will predict shorter lines,'' said Terri Bouffiou, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service in Los Angeles. ``Customers ... will be happier and enjoy the holidays just a little bit more.''

Christmas and Hanukkah shopping at Amazon.com, L.L. Bean and other online retail sites is predicted to grow 20 percent this year, according to market research companies Jupiter Communications and Forrester Research.

Retail industry trade groups predict an even higher rate of point-and-click shopping.

A 2004 study by Shop.org-BizRate.com found that 98 percent of merchants anticipate online growth this holiday season, with 32 percent of customers planning to shop via the comfort of their home computer.

``They're definitely shopping more online this year,'' said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation. ``The rate of growth is going to be very high.''

While lines at the post office may be shorter, postal workers aren't getting much relief.

The number of letters mailed each year has remained steady since 1994 while the number of packages has nearly tripled nationwide to 288 million during the holiday season, Bouffiou said. The reason: online and catalog shopping.

Still, there are skeptics.

``I never go to the post office because the lines are too long; it makes me crazy,'' said Susan Pohlman, 45, of Westlake Village. ``If I can do it online, I'll do it that way.''

Van Nuys Main Post Office station manager Mike Hughes said his staff is very busy.

``More people are processing parcels this year,'' said Hughes, who also oversees the Lake Balboa office. ``The amount of packages and letters going out - it's still enormous.''

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the USPS processes 150 million letters a day, 50 percent more than normal. The Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center, which handles the San Fernando Valley, is expected to process 2.4 million letters and packages, versus 850,000 pieces normally shipped during the same time period in another part of the year.

The USPS has introduced Click-and-Ship online shipping, through which customers can purchase postage with a credit card over the Internet and have their package picked up at home the next day. Customers can also make use of 24-hour Automated Postal Centers at the post office.

FedEx expected to record its highest volumes of the year Monday, handling some 7.7 million packages, up from its single-day record of 7.5 million packages on Dec. 15 last year.

Competitor UPS says its biggest day of the year will be next Tuesday, when it plans to deliver more than 20 million packages, or 230 parcels per second.

Staff Writer Andrea Cavanaugh contributed to this story.

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service