Latest direct mail volume and expenditure figures appear to show that financial services companies are reining back on blanket consumer mailings, leading to an overall reduction in the amount of direct mail they send. This is in contrast to less prolific mailers who continue to increase their usage of the medium.
According to 2004 year end statistics just released by the Direct Mail Information Service, the volume of financial services mailings fell by 8.1% year on year. With financial services companies being the largest users of the medium this resulted in overall direct mail volumes for the year dropping marginally, down 0.4% to 5.418 billion items.
Overall expenditure on direct mail rose slightly, up from £2.467bn to £2.469bn.
Aside from financial services, which still accounts for 31.7% of all direct mail sent (down from 34.3%), other sectors showed continued growth in usage. Competition in the utilities sector sparked an 11.6% year on year growth in volume while, although still small in terms of overall share, government mailings increased by 14.3% in 2004.
The travel/charity/leisure sector saw mail volumes increase by 6.4% to just over 634 million items, accounting for 15% of overall direct mail volume. The retail sector also saw a healthy rise in volumes, up 6.1% to 404 million items
Statistics show the overall 2004 volume and expenditure figures were influenced significantly by the last quarter where year on year volume was down 6.5% and expenditure down 4.5%.
Commenting on the figures, DMIS Managing Director, Jo Howard-Brown, says: “The overall figures are influenced heavily by usage levels in the financial services sector. The reduction in volumes here fits in with a trend we are picking up from major industry players, namely that quite a number of financial services companies are moving to a more targeted consumer approach.”
She adds: “This has to be good for the DM industry overall and is not something that will adversely affect the overall health of the direct mail medium. The statistics show that less prolific users such as retailers, travel companies and the government, continue to increase usage as they reap the benefits from well targeted, relevant campaigns. It is these sort of users that will ensure the direct mail medium continues to have a prosperous future.”
For further information contact:
Jo Howard-Brown, Managing Director, DMIS
Tel: 020 7494 0483,
Fax: 020 7494 0455,
E-mail: jo@dmis.co.uk,
Web site: www.dmis.co.uk
