Member Article

Why mail is a good bet as cost-of-living crisis starts to bite

The latest stats from JICMail, the joint industry currency for ad mail, show that there has been a significant increase in the amount of households retaining their mail. More households are choosing to file their mail away for later use or take it out of the home.

The new data which covers the period from April to June 2022, shows that close to half of mail (44 percent) is still live in the home after 28 days, which is a significant increase on Q2 2021. It is thought that this is because households are placing more importance on mail content in economically challenging times.

The research finds that overall, 94 percent of mail is engaged with, i.e., it has at least one meaningful physical interaction within 28 days. Whilst a fifth of all mail is filed away in the home – up two percent year-on-year, while three percent is taken out of the home for further usage. This quarter the average lifespan in the home was 8.6 days for business mail, 7.2 days for direct mail, 5.7 days for PAM, and 5.5 days for door drops.

In terms of engagement rates, the average piece of business mail was interacted with 4.8 times over a 28-day period, direct mail 4.4 times, Partially Addressed Mail (PAM) 3.7 times, and door drops three times.

The sectors driving this increased desire to retain mail were found to be government, financial services, and utilities, a trend pointing towards the increased relevance of these sectors for consumers in recent times.

Moreover, since 2017 there has been a 60 percent increase in the proportion of mail prompting advertiser website visits, providing further evidence that mail triggers an increasing blend of digital and physical effects for advertisers.

The research shows that the mail is continuing to grow in importance to consumers. It is now the most trusted form of advertising communication and as the country slides deeper into the cost-of-living crisis brands will need to strengthen their relationships with their existing customers and forge new ones with prospects. Clearly the mail is a good way for them to do this. However, targeting is king. If the mail goes to the wrong person, includes errors, or is sent more than once, the mail becomes junk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Software Bureau .