|
Date Released: 2008
Type of Promotional Material/Activity Tested:
Volume and types of advertising mail that US residents receive.
Sample Population:
5,462 households returned acceptable completed diaries (out of 8,213 households recruited to receive a diary package. This represents a completion rate of 66.5%. The sample design involved a systematic sample stratified by urban/rural location and census region, ensuring even coverage across the US.
Methodology:
The study used a two-stage design in which households were recruited to participate in the diary study in a household interview (Stage 1) and recruited households completed a seven-day diary of mail received and sent (Stage 2).
Metrics:
Consumer attitudes towards advertising mail, bill payment behavior, and use of communication technologies. Also measured: number of mail pieces received and sent, industry source, mail characteristics, and attitudes regarding mail received.
Top-Line Results:
-
In 2007, approximately 60% of household mail was advertising mail. US households each receive 16.7 pieces of advertising mail a week. Standard mail accounts for 83% of total advertising mail.
-
Household behavior toward advertising mail is largely independent of how much advertising mail the household receives. For example, among households that receive zero to seven pieces of advertising mail per week, 50% usually read all or some of the mail and 19% usually do not read any. Among households that receive eighteen or more pieces per week, 49% usually read all or some, and 17% usually do not read any. While households don't appear "turned of" to high volumes of direct mailings -- the percentage of households that usually read all advertising does decrease as the number of pieces increases.
-
The amount of advertising mail received is closely tied to income, education, and age. Higher income, more education and a larger household size, particularly the number of adults, translates into increased advertising mail received.
Advertising Mail Received by Income and Age of Household Head
(Pieces per Household per week)
| Household Income |
Under 34 |
35 to 54 |
Over 55 |
Average |
| Under $35K |
7.9 |
9.7 |
13.1 |
10.9 |
| $35K to $65K |
11.0 |
15.4 |
17.9 |
15.1 |
| $65K to $100K |
15.7 |
18.6 |
21.8 |
18.9 |
| Over $100K |
18.9 |
24.1 |
26.6 |
24.0 |
| Average |
12.0 |
17.6 |
18.0 |
16.7 |
Advertising Mail Received by Number of Adults in Household
(Pieces per Household per week)
| Number of Adults |
|
| One |
12.5 |
| Two |
17.3 |
| Three or more |
19.0 |
| Average |
16.7 |
-
Households with Internet access receive more advertising mail than those without access. This is reflective of household characteristics such as income and education. Households with broadband access average 18.6 pieces of direct mail a week while homes without Internet access average 12.6 pieces of direct mail per week.
-
Forty-eight percent of households surveyed “read” direct mail pieces and 33% “scan” direct mail pieces. Less than one out of every five households report they usually do not read their advertising mail.
-
When asked about their intended response to advertising mail, 27% say they will respond or might respond to standard class mailings (e.g., catalogs) and 19% state they will or might respond to first-class mailings (e.g., credit card offers). The higher the income, the higher the average number of potential and definite responses.
Take-Away:
This study, performed annually since 1987 by the US Postal Service, provides a consistent look at households' attitudes towards mail received, such as advertising mail.
Contrary to the image that direct mail is “junk mail” and is tossed without consideration -- a majority of respondents report they visually scan or read the direct mail advertising they receive.
Complexity rating of original source: 1
(Complex statistical analysis scale: 1= none, 2= moderate, 3 = difficult)
Link to The Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2007 at USPS.
|
