Consumer engagement with direct mail hit an annual high over Christmas. The figures reported by JICMAIL for Q4 2022 reveal that a greater proportion of direct mail was opened and read (77 per cent) and was retained in the home for longer than a week (46 per cent), than at any point in the previous year, demonstrating the importance of the channel within the marketing mix.
Both the open and retention rates have grown by four per cent since the same period in 2021. At a time of year when consumers are more likely than ever to be bombarded by advertising messages across multiple channels, these healthy figures give fundraisers reassurance of consumers’ willingness to engage with the mail channel.
The uptick in engagement is also positively impacting the channel’s effectiveness. Fourteen per cent of mail was found to provoke discussions, highlighting mail’s ability to drive word of mouth marketing for charities. Furthermore, five per cent of mail was found to prompt an action including a charitable donation, demonstrating the power of mail within the entire donor journey from cause discovery through to donating.
The average piece of direct Mail was interacted with 4.4 times whilst door drops were interacted with 3.1 times over a twenty-eight day period. Mail was kept in the house for an average of 7.2 days, partially address mail was retained for 6.4 days and door drops were kept for 5.4 days.
Commenting on the findings Ian Gibbs, Director of Data Leadership and Learning said:
“Although Q4 presented some challenging market conditions, it is clear that there is as much appetite as ever from consumers to open, read and discuss their mail.”
If you want to know more about these figures or would like assistance with your next direct mail campaign please get in touch!
