Direct Mail, often seen as antiquated by the now extensive online access to information, still has broad value to shoppers because of the large number of purchasing decisions made at home, according to a new study. It shows that Direct Mail can increase sales.
The study from PebblePost, a firm that applies programmatic buying to Direct Mail Marketing.
The research details how pivotal a role the home plays in shopper behavior. It covers 3,250 American consumer households.
Statistics within the report reveal how the majority of purchase decisions are planned and made at home with other members of the household.
Direct Mail for Retailers – Study Highlights
88% of purchase decisions are made or discussed at home
In fact, retail, auto, and financial purchases that require higher levels of consideration almost universally involve the home.
89% of purchase decisions are pre-planned and discussed with others
Spouses are consulted most often and wield the greatest influence on purchase decisions.
76% of shoppers discuss relevant mail
From a brand or retailer they’ve purchased from in the past, and 61% of recipients find direct mail influenced their purchase decision.
Direct Mail drives consideration and engagement
75% of direct mail shoppers talked about the product after purchasing, while 22% liked or followed the brand or retailer on social media.
Other Findings
As a major marketing tool used to reach consumers in the home, Direct Mail provides an additional (and crucial) physical-world touchpoint on a shopper’s path to purchase.
At a recent event presenting the findings, Devora Rogers, VP at Murphy Research, which is the group who executed the study for PebblePost, loosely defined key or “meaningful” retail purchasing decisions as anything above $100.
But she noted that many purchases — citing choosing throw pillows or switching toothpastes as examples — likely “involve a conversation” with family members.
Relevancy remains critical to Direct Mail and household conversations:
- Of those surveyed, 68 percent immediately toss mail received from a brand/retailer they haven’t heard of.
- 76 percent, however, discuss Direct Mail from a brand/retailer they have purchased from in the past.
- 66 percent discuss Direct Mail from a brand/retailer they have not heard of if the category is of interest.
- 54 percent will discuss mail from a brand/retailer they have heard of, but not purchased from in the past.
A final key finding brought out in the research is that direct mail complements information gained online, with three-quarters of direct mail users also consulting online sources. Online sources were found to be used earlier in the path to purchase with direct mail turned to just before an in-store visit.
Several benefits Direct Mail has other advantages when it comes to other channels, specifically; Email Marketing.
Some of the key advantages it found Direct Mail has over Email include:
- Direct Mail has a longer shelf-life than Email
- Direct Mal has improved branding and message-retention than Email
- Direct Mail is less likely to be viewed as spam
- Direct mail was found to outperform Email in terms of incremental revenue after campaign costs
You can read more about the Direct Mail vs. Email UK based study here.
Direct Mail Will Increase Sales for your business
At Homeowners Marketing Services, we’ve served over 26,000 clients in almost 50 years in business.
We’ve been successful at it because we have laser sharp focus on one skill we have developed to an art form over the years; compiling fresh and accurate Mailing Lists.
You should contact us to find out more about our New Homeowners Mailing List which targets people who purhcased a house and have just moved to it ; they make great buying prospects for your business because they usually move more than 10 miles away and need new providers for all their services and products; from retail to doctors, contractors, pet and child services and family shopping establishments.
New Movers Mailing List targeting anyone who moves from one living location to another, usually renters
and lastly our latest New Business Mailing List if your business provides services or products to other businesses.