Your Fact-Based Guide on Why Direct Mail Works!

Direct mail continues to be a dominant channel as response rates and revenue remain steady and even increase year after year. Take a look at these hard-to-ignore facts that validate why direct mail should be a foundational element of every business’s marketing strategy.

STATS FOR DIRECT MAIL MARKETING

$47.93 Billion by 2031: The direct mail advertising market is expected to grow from $42.79 billion in 2021 to $46.33 billion in 2026, and reach $47.93 billion in 2031. The benefits associated with direct mail advertising are contributing to the growth of this lucrative market. (Source: The Business Research Company)

Primary Purposes of Direct Mail: The top reported purpose of direct mail by B2B and split B2B/B2C marketers was to generate leads. However, the primary purpose among B2C marketers was equally divided between making a direct sale, driving traffic to retail locations, and engaging prospects/customers. (Source: ANA Response Rate Report)

Popular Direct Mail Formats: The most common direct mail formats used by U.S. based marketers are Postcards (66%), Newsletters (66%), Self-Mailers (56%), Catalogs (48%), and Packages (45%). (Source: USPS Direct Mail Report)

Competitive Cost-Per-Acquisition: Direct mail has an extremely competitive average of $19 cost-per acquisition, outperforming mobile, social, paid search, and internet display advertising. Only email outperformed direct mail, with a cost-per-acquisition of $11-15. (Source: DMA Response Rate Report)

Higher Response Rates: Direct mail has an average response rate between 2.7% to 4.4% compared to 0.62% for a combination of mobile, email, social media, paid search, and display advertising. (Source: Newswire)

STATS FOR CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Millennials Love Direct Mail: Nearly 90% of Millennials love receiving mail and agree it’s a reliable advertising source. The study also revealed that 57% acted on direct mail offers. (Source: USPS)

Preference for Mail from Brands: 59% of US respondents say they enjoy getting mail from brands about new products, and 73% of American consumers prefer being contacted by brands via direct mail because they can read mail at their own convenience. (Sources: Epsilon, Small Biz Genius)

Positive Impression from Gen X: Two-thirds of Gen X consumers say they have a positive impression of companies that send out relevant marketing mail. (Source: USPS Generational Research Report)

Consistent Mail Engagement: 98% of people check their mail daily, 72% bring it in as soon as possible, and 77% sort through their mail immediately. (Source: USPS)

STATS FOR CATALOGS

Catalog Influence: Mailed catalogs have a significant influence on generating online sales, with catalog recipients purchasing 28% more items and spending 28% more money than their non-catalog counterparts. (Source: USPS)

Higher ROI with Catalog Marketing: The ROI of catalog marketing on physical-prone customers is 60% higher than e-commerce-prone customers. (Source: Harvard Business Review)

Impact on Purchases: More than 77% of recipients of a catalog visit a retail store or website because they viewed the brand’s catalog, and catalogs influence an average of 2.5 purchases. (Source: Xerox)

STATS FOR DIRECT MAIL AND DIGITAL

Highest ROI: Direct mail ranks the highest ROI when sent to prospects at 112% compared to SMS at 102%, followed by email at 93% ROI. (Source: Association of National Advertisers)

Trust and Engagement: 76% of consumers trust direct mail when they want to make a purchase decision, over digital channels. Up to 90% of direct mail gets opened compared to only 23% for emails. (Sources: MarketingSherpa, Data & Marketing Association)

Personalization and Conversion: 70% of consumers say direct mail is more personal than online interactions. Direct mail paired with digital campaigns produce 28% higher conversion rates and boosts response rates by 450%. (Sources: Fundera, Writer’s Block Live)

Ease of Processing: Direct mail takes 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital marketing because the audience doesn’t have to invest time or brainpower in understanding mail. (Source: Canada Post)

CREATE BETTER STATS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

As effective marketing channels go, the mailbox has never mattered more than it does right now. Whether driving traffic to local businesses or driving regional or national movements — direct mail has an impact.

From helping you choose the right message and materials to showing you how optimal size and sorting can help extend your budget, HighNote is ready to dig into the details that will help you win big.

From list segmentation and innovative response tracking, to sizes, shapes, structures, and colors that make connections, we’re here to make your program perform.

Everyone has a mailbox. At HighNote, we’re committed to helping your brand build better connections there.