Marketers are expected to spend $39.36 billion on direct mail during 2023, down from $41.7 billion during 2022 and $43.1 billion for 2019. The reason for the decrease tends to be postal cost increases and integrated platforms.
The challenge is that postage spending has increased, from 45.7% of the overall cost during 2019 to a projected 48.4% for 2023, according to data in a new report from the Winterberry Group with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as the presenting and commissioning sponsor. It is lower for nonprofits due to the nonprofit postage rates which are usually in the 20-25% range of overall mailing costs.
The growing costs and challenges associated with the addressability of data-driven digital media are leading many marketers to test alternative channels, including direct mail, in support of their growth ambitions, according to the report’s authors.
Nonprofits relying on direct mail for fundraising have been reducing mail volume for several years due to postage costs. Direct mail totals – letters, flats and parcels, and periodicals have declined from 13.8 billion pieces during 2019 to 12.04 billion pieces during 2022, according to data from the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers in Washington, D.C.