Uber and other startup firms in the field of parcel delivery could pose a threat to European parcel firms including Royal Mail, Deutsche Post and PostNL.

These could significantly affect the market share of these companies in the coming years.

Amazon could also pose a serious threat to these European companies as it is transforming itself from a customer to a competitor in this field as it is looking to start its own delivery service in some parts of the continent.

It has been a customer of European parcel delivery companies for many years now.

Some companies have already started assessing the kind of threat they would face with the arrival of these competitors.

The UK’s Royal Mail said that its market share of around £9.5b ($13.7b) might go down by as much as 50% if Amazon launches and runs its parcel delivery business.

After this, there is also a threat from UberRush, which recently started operations in some cities in the US.

UberRUSH is an on-demand delivery network from Uber, which can deliver things around a city at much cheaper rates than conventional parcel delivery houses.

Some analysts believe that UberRUSH, if introduced in Europe, might grab a major market share in the years to come, reported Reuters.

According to some estimates, if UberRUSH enters the European market, share prices of Deutsche Post, PostNL and Royal Mail would all come under strain.

European transport and logistics analyst David Kerstens at Jefferies told Reuters: "UberRUSH would be another potential competitor trying to take a slice of the pie, which would no doubt put further pressure on companies like Royal Mail when same day delivery grows in importance."

Uber says that presently it is not considering a European launch for UberRUSH, but analysts think that it is just a matter of time before Uber will start its parcel delivery operations.

A report by delivery company ParcelHero, says that if Uber can capture 10% of market share every year, then it could tap into revenue of £700m in just one European country.