industries

Snail Mail Still Winning

Thinking you'll kick up your business’s marketing with a flashy new online or mobile campaign? You may want to think again. A new study of consumer communication habits shows that only about 3 per cent of consumers in both Canada and the U.S. bother with QR codes. That’s barely a ripple in the communication world. Not only that, a large majority of both Canadians and Americans admit to never opening much of the email they get.

By Tony Wanless /

Direct mail marketing | BCBusiness
According to a recent study, direct mail is still the preferred method for consumers receiving brand communications.

Thinking you’ll kick up your business’s marketing with a flashy new online or mobile campaign? You may want to think again.

A new study of consumer communication habits shows that only about 3 per cent of consumers in both Canada and the U.S. bother with QR codes. That’s barely a ripple in the communication world. Not only that, a large majority of both Canadians and Americans admit to never opening much of the email they get.

These are some of the myth-busting results of an international survey by Epsilon, the large American marketing analysis firm. The study, Channel Preference for Both the Mobile and Non-Mobile Consumer, was completed last June and found some numbers that break many other common beliefs.

For example, direct mail is still the preferred channel for U.S. and Canadian consumers to receive brand communications in nearly every product and service category including financial services, insurance, general health, cleaning products, food and charitable causes.

Apparently snail mail isn’t dead yet – at least in the direct marketing world.
Further proof:  

  • 62 per cent of Americans and 63 per cent of Canadians said they enjoy checking the mailbox for postal mail;
  • 51 per cent of U.S. consumers and 49 per cent of Canadian consumers said they pay more attention to postal mail than email;
  • 73 per cent of U.S. consumers and 67 per cent of Canadian consumers said they prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read the information at their convenience.

However, the situation may be changing, albeit slowly. Mobile device users were 40-50 per cent more likely to prefer email and online communications, respectively, than non-users.

So, as with all marketing, it depends on your target market. Early adopters may go for online, but the following majority still likes snail mail.