In the run-up to Christmas, JICMail said there was increased mail activity in the grocery and travel markets across all mail types, and across utilities, medical, finance and telecoms in the door drops sector.
The average piece of business mail was interacted with 4.8 times over a 28-day period in Q4, direct mail 4.4 times, partially addressed mail 3.8 times, and door drops 3.1 times.
The average lifespan in the home was 8.6 days for business mail, seven days for direct mail, 6.2 days for PAM, and 5.7 days for door drops.
Business mail frequency of interaction and lifespan in the home grew year-on-year for the third quarter in a row.
The average piece of direct mail was looked at for 133 seconds across 28 days, door drops 56 seconds, business mail an all-time high of 191 seconds, and partially addressed mail for 80 seconds.
6% of mail prompted a purchase in Q4 2024, 15% of mail prompted a discussion, and 8% prompted a website visit.
JICMail said the mail channel’s ability to attract consumer attention and subsequently convert this attention into sales acquisitions was a vital component of its Super Touchpoint strengths, as outlined in the organisation’s new report released at the JICMail Conference at PwC in January.
Supermarkets, retailers, charities and financial service products such as credit cards and pensions recorded above-average response rates across both door drops and direct mail in Q4.
Loyalty reward statements proved to be one of the most effective drivers of response in the direct mail space, while for door drops, the use of vouchers and special offers was found to be particularly effective.
Ian Gibbs, JICMail director of data leadership and learning, said: “Everyone knows that the competition for consumer eyeballs is more fierce than ever in Q4.
“Combined with the ongoing challenges of platform dominated ad spend, persistent use of last-click attribution models, and rising levels of digital ad fraud, it is more important than ever for marketers to consider their investments in Super Touchpoints in this crucial trading period.
“Mail has again proven its strengths throughout the purchase cycle in Q4 and the record levels of mail read rates show just how much appetite consumers have for marketing comms delivered through the mail channel.”
According to JICMail-endorsed Nielsen circulation data, 7,763 advertisers used direct mail or door drops in 2024, amounting to 15% of all UK advertisers tracked by Nielsen.
