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20 Delightful Direct Mail Marketing Statistics for 2024

By Blog

Many marketers think direct mail marketing is the wrong approach to generate new leads to their companies. 

On the other hand:

Recent direct mail marketing statistics show this method actually is not only viable, but it brings in a great ROI. In fact, it even beats email marketing!

Here’s why:

The biggest strength of direct mail marketing is helping brands generate bigger localized awareness. Successful direct mail campaigns give excellent results with attracting and engaging local audiences and getting a quick response from them. 

Sounds pretty promising, right?

So, we’ve done our research and picked the stats that prove direct mail marketing is still a valuable marketing method for businesses.

Let’s dive right in.

Fascinating Direct Mail Marketing Stats (Editor’s Choice)

  • 40% of US mail receptors look forward to checking their mailbox.
  • 95% of millennials love receiving direct mail.
  • 70% of US mail recipients sort their mail immediately when they pick it up from the mailbox.
  • People spend 42% more time scanning and reading direct mail than emails.
  • 50.9% of mail recipients find postcards useful.
  • B2B direct mail produces a response rate of 4.4%, which is 47x better than email.
  • 57.2% of the mail American receive is advertising mail.
  • Oversized envelopes receive the highest response rate of 5.3%.

Direct Mail Marketing Statistics 2019

1. 4 out of 10 US citizens look forward to checking their mailbox.

(Source: Gallup)

People still get excited when they open their mailboxes in the US, a recent study about direct mail marketing stats revealed! It seems like older generations enjoy opening their boxes the most. Still, nearly 40% of Americans 30 or younger feel the same way!

This is huge!

2. 57.2% of the mail American receive is advertising mail. 

(Source: PRC)

In the 21st century, very few people exchange letters. So, it should come as no surprise that recent direct mail advertising studies show nearly 60% of American households receive marketing mail. This is fantastic news for marketers because people are still open to receiving advertising mail.

3. Americans receive on average 454 marketing mail items annually. 

(Source: PRC)

If you ask yourself “does direct mail still work?” then the answer is simple and straightforward: 

Yes, it does! 

In addition to lots of direct mail ads, Americans receive 92 items from non-profit organizations on a yearly basis!

4. 7 out of 10 people sort their mail immediately when they pick it up from the mailbox. 

(Source: USPS)

According to USPS’s direct mail marketing stats, 70% of people sort their mail when they pick it from the mailbox. Additionally, we find out that 98% of people in the US check their mailbox on a daily level. 

Key takeaway:

There’s a great chance potential customers will read your advertising mail.

5. 59% of US mail users enjoy getting postal mail about new products and services from brands. 

(Source: Epsilon)

Good news for marketers! According to Epsilon’s direct mail campaign stats, just about six out of ten Americans get hyped when they read mail containing some news and information about upcoming or new products. 

6. Oversized envelopes receive the highest response rate of 5.3%.  

(Source: Hubspot)

Hubspot’s direct mail advertising stats show that oversized mails received the highest response rate. Well, if it is in a big mail, it must be important and you’ve got to send a response, right? Other data shows that the second-highest response rate comes postcards (4.25%) and third comes catalogs with (3.9%).

7. 95% of millennials love receiving direct mail! 

(Source: Gallup)

Many people tend to think generation is all about digital these days. But according to the latest direct mail trends, nearly all Millennials are happy to receive direct mail. Plus, more than 90% of them prefer to read printed advertisements to digital ones.

8. Companies still invest in direct marketing.  

(Source: Statista)

The latest Statista direct mail marketing stats show that in 2018, businesses in America spent $42.4 billion dollars. That’s 100 million less than the previous year and 2,6 billion less than 2014.

9. On average, mail recipients spend 25 minutes checking their direct mail. 

(Source: PB)

PB’s direct mail marketing statistics reveal that people spend nearly half an hour checking their direct mail. Furthermore, they reveal the average mail recipient spends 45 minutes checking magazines and 30 minutes checking catalogs and other mail.

Direct Mail Effectiveness Statistics

10. People spend more time scanning and reading direct mails than emails.

(Source: GreaterBaltimorePCC)

Recent direct mail advertising statistics reveal more than 42% of direct mail recipients spend more time reading and scanning the mail they get. The time they spent on it is not even close to the time they spent on their direct mail.

11. More than 60% of direct mail receivers visit a website after reading their catalogs. 

(Source: USPS)

Users really enjoy flipping through to the catalog pages while they are shopping online. According to the USPS, a direct mail promotion with a catalog influences shoppers to visit their website. Not only that, but their data showed that 61% of them use the catalog while shopping online. 

12. On average, a household keeps advertising mail for at least 17 days.  

(Source: MarketReach)

MarketReach mail ads stats reveal that households keep their mail for over two weeks days before throwing it in the trash. That leaves plenty of time for all family members to check it out and find something interesting.

13. Retailers increased their catalog circulation by 44.4%. 

(Source: DAC Marketing)

Finally, retailers started reading into the direct mail trends, and nearly half of them increased their catalog circulation. That way, they increased their website traffic and their company’s brand awareness, something they thought impossible with direct mail before.

14. Direct mail can generate up to 29% of ROI, direct mail marketing statistics reveal. 

(Source: Direct Marketing)

Even though the US Postal Service implemented a higher postage rate since 2019, direct marketing ROI showed great numbers. According to Marketing Charts, direct marketing can bring up to 29% ROI, which compared to social media is just one percent less (30%).

15. Generation Xers are most likely to respond to direct mail.

(Source: EleventyGroup)

The key to any campaign is targeting the right audience. Recent data from the direct mail industry reveals that Generation X or individuals aged 40 to 54 have the highest response rate of 14.1%. This makes Generation X a better target group than Millennials and Generation Y, who produce better results through digital marketing like social media and email.

16. More than half of mail recipients find postcards useful.

(Source: EleventyGroup)

Because of their size, postcards attract people’s attention immediately. That is why recent postcard marketing statistics reveal that 50.9% of mail recipients find postcards useful. Without a doubt, this is one of the most efficient ways to generate results with your direct mail marketing campaign.

Direct Mail vs Email Stats

17. Email still brings better ROI than direct mail. 

(Source: HubSpot)

Recent direct mail vs email stats showed that email provides better ROI than direct mail. The reason behind this lies in the costs – emails are cheaper to send. The average ROI of email is $28.5, while the corresponding figure for direct mail is only $7. 

18. 90% of direct mail gets opened, compared to just 20% of email.

(Source: DMNEWS)

This stat proves why direct mail works and is a better method connecting with your customers than email. 

The thing is:

You receive something like 500 or more emails that are either sent to the promotion folder or end up in the spam folder. With direct mail, users tend to scan every letter or brochure. And if something catches their attention (like your direct mail campaign), they invest enough time to browse it and read it fully.

19. B2B direct mail produces a response rate of 4.4%, which is 47x better than email! 

(Source: Nectafy)

If you are still wondering whether there’s a good direct mail response rate, then you just got your answer. This stat proves that direct marketing has a 4.4% response rate and it is a whopping 47 times better than the response rate email receives, which is a negligible 0.12%.

20. 57% of people abandoned their email addresses because they receive too much marketing material. 

(Source: MarketingProof)

Direct mail still has its flows, but when the recipient doesn’t care about the mail, they just throw it away. They don’t really need to change their house. Plus, they can pick up the important mails in just 15 minutes, compared to spending hours deleting your promotions on your email.

The Wrap-up!

So, is direct mail dead

Well, to paraphrase Mark Twain’s famous quip:

“The reports of my direct mail’s death are greatly exaggerated”

Yes, times have changed, and digital rules the marketing world. But according to direct mail marketing stats, this approach can still bring your new customers to your business.

Bottom line:

The latest direct mail marketing statistics can direct your marketing team in the right direction. Trust the facts and be creative with your campaigns, and we are more than certain that you will attract plenty of customers the old-fashioned direct mail way.

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