The data covering the period from April to June 2021 found that confidence in the mail ad market continued to rebound, with direct mail volumes on the JICMail panel increasing by 51% year-on-year, and door drops by 181%.
Local elections played their part in driving political party direct mail and door drop volumes, with four of the top ten door drop advertiser spots occupied by the major UK political parties.
Covid related messaging from the NHS continued while the travel and mail order/online retail sectors also played a key role in market recovery.
The effectiveness of mail at driving consumers into bricks-and-mortar retail stores increased by 71% year-on-year, with 1.4% of all mail received in the period having a footfall effect.
Vouchers played their part in prompting consumers to visit retail stores, with 2.1% of all mail prompting a voucher redemption – up 28% year-on-year.
The data found that mail also continued to establish its role in driving digital effects for advertisers, with mail’s effectiveness at driving consumer traffic to advertiser websites sustained at a level nearly six times greater than its footfall effects.
JICMail reported that the average piece of direct mail was interacted with 4.4 times on average in Q2, and shared with 1.14 people per household, boosting mail campaign reach by 14% and generating ad impressions over four times greater than the mail volumes delivered.
Door drops recorded an average frequency of 2.99 and item reach of 1.06 people per household. Business mail, meanwhile, was interacted with an average of 4.83 times on average and shared with 1.17 people per household.
The average door drop was kept in the home for 5.8 days before being filed or thrown away/recycled, with direct mail kept for eight days, and business mail retained for 9.5 days.
JICMail engagement director Mark Cross said: “The pronounced uplift in JICMail panel volumes is striking, with the multiple effects of mail continuing to impact both media and consumer behaviours over this period. The new normal of heightened digital effects from mail are evident again, and across this quarter, the effects of driving much needed store traffic and consumer value through vouchers a particular stand-out.
“The commercial activity generated by mail, as captured by JICMail, demonstrates the channel’s clear relevance to the recovery effort in the economy.”
JICMail data is gathered from a panel of 1,000 households every month. The mail activity of every household member is tracked using a diary-based app. Every mail item they receive over the course of a week is captured and everything they do with that mail item over the course of a month is recorded.
