Official figures released by the Direct Mail Information Service show that, in the April to June period, volume rose 4.6% over the same period in 2002 to 1424 billion items.

Expenditure was up 3.4%, rising from £527.38m in the second quarter of 2002 to £545.29m in the same period this year. This figure is split between production (55.2%) £300.57m and postage (44.8%) at £244.72m.

An analysis of the consumer volume figures shows that the increase has been dominated by an incremental growth of mailings from the travel/charity/leisure (combined) sector where volume rose 27.9%. The manufacturing sector saw volume rise 24.5% year on year to 32.01 million items and the financial sector increased 23.5% year on year to 292.07 million items.

All the socio-economic groups have seen a rise in Direct Mail volumes with C1s showing the greatest increase of nearly 20% on the 2002 figure, to 321.54 million items.

All age groups have also seen an increase in the amount of Direct Mail they receive. The most significant growth being for the 16-34 age group, up 17.4% on last year to 199.37 million items. The 45-54 age group also showed considerable growth of 12.2% on last year to 195.04 million items.

Commenting on the figures, DMIS Managing Director, Jo Howard-Brown, says: "The figures show that Direct Mail continues to grow steadily. The increase in consumer Direct Mail only goes to underline the fact that the consumer is spending more and more money through the medium, and advertisers are clearly seeing a return on investment".