The high cost of sending a letter in Denmark is also a contributing factor behind its decline. In 2024 a new law opened up the postal market to private competition, and took away its exemption from the country's 25% rate of VAT, so the price of a PostNord stamp jumped to 29 Danish krone ($4.55; £3.35) per letter. "That made [volumes] drop even further faster," Mr Pedersen points out. The big fall in the number of letters being posted is replicated Europe-wide, says postal sector expert Hazel King, editor of the magazine Parcel and Postal Technology International. "Letters across Europe have been declining for years," she says. "I think PostNord's decision is a reflection of how the whole market has gone, and the way the consumer is moving." Physical mail has dropped by 30% or more from its historical peak, across all major global markets, according to a report by consultancy firm McKinsey. In Europe, Germany and Switzerland have seen the slowest [letter] decline, says Florian Neuhaus, who co-authored the study. "It's only 40% there, but everybody else sees around a 50 to 70% decline [since 2008]." There's a similar pattern in the United States, where mail has also declined 46%. "Clearly this is driven by digitalisation and how people communicate in general," adds Mr Neuhaus. "Overall, the economics in letters are just getting worse and worse."