Quarterly results released by The Joint Industry Currency for Mail showed a significant rise in mail volumes in Q2 2024, boosted by the UK General Election.
However, while political mail performed well, it was a bumper quarter for the mail channel. direct mail, business mail, Partially addressed mail, and door drop media each held their own, while the commercial effectiveness of non-political mail also provided highlights.
Direct Mail trended upwards in two of the three key measurements. Item Reach (+0.6% year-on-year) and Lifespan (+4.3% year-on-year) were up in the second quarter, while Frequency only saw a marginal slide of 0.7%.
Direct Mail Continues to Grab Attention
Mail’s ability to engage remains strong across all types. Direct Mail Attention (seconds interacted with per item) is up 10 seconds year-on-year. Meanwhile, Door Drop Attention rose by five seconds between the quarter and the year. For Business Mail and Partially Addressed Mail, Attention remained stable over the quarter and strong throughout the year.
JICMAIL also found that the amount of mail retained in the home increased across all mail types.
- Direct Mail Lifespan is 7.3 days, up by 4.3% y-o-y.
- Business Mail Lifespan is 8.6 days, up 3.9% y-o-y.
- Partially Addressed Mail Lifespan is 7.2 days, up 8.1% y-o-y.
- Door Drop Media Lifespan is 5.9 days, up 2.9% y-o-y.
These figures further demonstrate mail recipients’ willingness to store and reference mail items for future use, thereby enhancing brand awareness and discoverability.
Non-political Direct Mail Prompts High Purchase Activity
While the Election took centre stage, it was not the key driver of commercial effectiveness. Instead, the retail and utilities sectors were among the quarter's biggest winners. A sizeable 15.2% of supermarket mail prompted an in-store purchase, while in the online world, 7.5% of mail senders in the utilities space saw purchases being made.
Overall, 5.3% of mail prompted a purchase in Q2, with 51% of these purchases being conducted online.
JICMAIL Buoyed by “Strong Mail Engagement Rates and Commercial Effectiveness”
JICMAIL is a not-for-profit industry organisation that provides the gold standard of information and independent research on consumer activity with mail in the home. Utilising JICMAIL data gives media planners a clear and accurate picture of the efficacy of mail campaigns.
It’s exciting see confidence returning to the mail channel in Q2 2024, buoyed by strong mail engagement rates and commercial effectiveness. While the General Election played a huge part in stimulating volumes, this wasn’t the only driver of growth however and it’s encouraging to see retail and travel advertisers using the omni-channel strengths of the mail channel to full effect.
Ian Gibbs, Director and Data Leadership and Learning at JICMAIL. JICMAIL
Postal Support Solutions
Discuss your postal requirements
Share this article
You may also like...
