Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
Direct mail requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media
75% of people can recall a brand after seeing a print advertisement compared to 44% for digital ads
Physical material involves more emotional processing which is important for memory and brand associations
Direct mail achieves a 4.4% response rate compared to 0.12% for email
The average ROI for direct mail is $4.09 for every $1.27 spent
Oversized envelopes have the highest response rate at 5.0%
82% of consumers trust print ads the most when making a purchase decision
56% of customers perceive print marketing as the most trustworthy form of marketing
77% of consumers believe print provides a more personal connection than digital interactions
Campaigns combining print and digital deliver 400% better effectiveness than digital-only campaigns
44% of consumers visit a brand’s website after receiving direct mail
Including a QR code on direct mail increases the conversion rate by up to 15%
Millennials are 25% more likely than other generations to read direct mail
62% of millennials say they have visited a store in the past month based on information received in the mail
93% of shoppers use coupons they received in the mail
Demographics & Behaviors
- 1Millennials are 25% more likely than other generations to read direct mail
- 262% of millennials say they have visited a store in the past month based on information received in the mail
- 393% of shoppers use coupons they received in the mail
- 4Households with an income over $100k are 18% more likely to read catalogs
- 558% of parents with children under 18 look forward to checking the mail
- 670% of Americans say mail is more personal than the internet
- 7Women are 10% more likely than men to immediately open direct mail
- 849% of consumers purchase more items when they have a physical coupon
- 9Non-profit donors aged 55+ prefer direct mail solicitation over email by a 3 to 1 margin
- 1050% of consumers aged 25-34 read direct mail immediately upon arriving home
- 1186% of shoppers in the US prefer a physical coupon to a digital one for groceries
- 1247% of millennials share direct mail coupons with friends and family
- 13Homeowners are 12% more responsive to direct mail than renters
- 1478% of consumers make purchases based on direct mail from grocery stores
- 15Gen Z consumers have a 5% higher attention span for print advertising than Millennials
- 1630% of retirees rely on direct mail for information on healthcare products
- 17Consumers aged 18-34 have the highest response rate to oversized envelopes
- 18Low-income households are twice as likely to read direct mail circulars for deals
- 1925% of all direct mail responses come from the 18-21 age demographic showing youth engagement
- 20Luxury buyers prefer print magazines for lifestyle content by a margin of 62%
Interpretation
Print mail is far from dead; it’s a quietly persuasive, personal channel that millennials and other young adults engage with and act on at unusually high rates—half of people ages 25 to 34 open mail immediately, Gen Z shows slightly higher attention for print than millennials, parents and women are especially receptive, higher-income households and homeowners favor catalogs and magazines while luxury buyers prefer print lifestyle content, older donors and retirees overwhelmingly choose mail for solicitations and healthcare information, and physical coupons, which most grocery shoppers prefer, consistently drive extra purchases and beat digital offers for deal-seeking consumers.
Multichannel Integration
- 1Campaigns combining print and digital deliver 400% better effectiveness than digital-only campaigns
- 244% of consumers visit a brand’s website after receiving direct mail
- 3Including a QR code on direct mail increases the conversion rate by up to 15%
- 4Marketing campaigns that use direct mail and 1 or more digital media achieve a 118% lift in response rate
- 5Direct mail prompts 64% of recipients to visit a website for more information
- 657% of consumers say that email marketing prompts them to buy but direct mail closes the deal
- 790% of customers visit a website before calling specifically when prompted by print media
- 868% of marketing respondents say combining digital and direct mail increases website visits
- 9Catalog recipients buy 28% more items and spend 28% more money when the catalog is integrated with email
- 10Programmatic direct mail can retarget website visitors within 24 hours seeing conversion lifts of 20%
- 1160% of smartphone users have scanned a QR code on a printed material in the past year
- 12Print drives 20% of online searches for businesses
- 13Integrated direct mail and digital campaigns elicit 39% more attention than single-media digital campaigns
- 1472% of marketers use direct mail for its ability to integrate with other channels
- 15Adding direct mail to the marketing mix increases ROI by 20%
- 16Consumers who see a print ad and a TV ad for the same product have a 50% higher brand recall
- 17Direct mail drives 5x more web traffic than email for high-value purchases
- 1851% of marketing professionals are increasing their direct mail spend to complement digital efforts
- 19Print magazines drive more web search traffic per reader than any other medium
- 2031% of shoppers use a catalog to drive an online purchase each month
Interpretation
Think of print as the charming opener that gets 64 percent of recipients to visit your site and often closes the deal when email only sparks interest, because pairing direct mail with digital can be up to 400 percent more effective than digital alone, lift response rates by over 100 percent, drive substantial traffic and searches, boost conversions with QR codes and programmatic retargeting, increase catalog purchases and spend by 28 percent, and raise ROI by roughly 20 percent, so treat print not as optional nostalgia but as the strategic partner that makes your digital investment pay off.
Neuroscience & Engagement
- 1Direct mail requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media
- 275% of people can recall a brand after seeing a print advertisement compared to 44% for digital ads
- 3Physical material involves more emotional processing which is important for memory and brand associations
- 4Reading on paper allows for better spatial memory of the text than reading on screens
- 5Participants in a study spent more time with physical ads than digital ads indicating higher engagement
- 6Physical ads trigger activity in the ventral striatum an area of the brain responsible for value and desirability
- 7Brand recall was 70% higher among participants who were exposed to a direct mail piece than a digital ad
- 860% of consumers explain that print marketing makes a lasting impression that is easier to recall later
- 9Haptic memory or touch memory creates a deeper connection to the material leading to a 24% increase in value perception
- 10Paper readers report higher levels of empathy and immersion in the narrative than screen readers
- 11The physical act of handling mail generates a spike in emotional engagement that digital channels cannot replicate
- 12Studies show that student comprehension is significantly better when reading print versus digital formats
- 13Viewing physical media generates a stronger emotional response than virtual media for the same content
- 14Sensory marketing which print utilizes can increase sales by up to 10%
- 15Touching a product or its representation in print increases the sense of ownership known as the endowment effect
- 16Physical ads are more likely to be viewed as 'real' by the brain compared to digital pixels
- 17Deep reading is more commonly associated with print leading to better retention of complex information
- 18Print advertisements stimulate multiple senses simulating the experience of using the product
- 19Consumers exhibit a lower heart rate when reading print indicating a state of focused relaxation
- 20Tangible materials utilize the 'generation effect' where information is better remembered if it is actively handled
Interpretation
Think of print marketing as a bookmark for the brain: it demands less cognitive effort, leverages touch and emotion to boost recall, perceived value, and engagement, and creates deeper, longer-lasting impressions than digital ads.
Response Rates & ROI
- 1Direct mail achieves a 4.4% response rate compared to 0.12% for email
- 2The average ROI for direct mail is $4.09 for every $1.27 spent
- 3Oversized envelopes have the highest response rate at 5.0%
- 442.2% of direct mail recipients either read or scan the mail they receive
- 5Catalogs have an average influence on sales of $47.61 per catalog mostly due to their high retention rate
- 6Direct mail yields a median ROI of 29% putting it ahead of paid search and online display
- 7Adding a name to direct mail (personalization) increases response rates by 135%
- 8Postcards have a read rate of approximately 52.5% driven by their concise format
- 9House lists (existing customers) generate a 9% response rate for direct mail
- 1081% of mail is read or scanned daily by the recipients
- 11Dimensional mailers outperform standard envelopes with an 8.5% response rate
- 12For customer acquisition direct mail costs per acquisition are roughly $43.90 comparable to PPC
- 13Non-profits see a response rate of around 6% for house lists using direct mail
- 14B2B direct mail campaigns see response rates typically between 5 to 9 times higher than email
- 1539% of consumers try a business for the first time because of direct mail
- 16Direct mail response rates increased by 43% year-over-year in recent ANA studies
- 17The lifespan of a direct mail piece is 17 days compared to seconds for an email
- 18Nearly 90% of direct mail gets opened compared to 20-30% of emails
- 19Every 167 pieces of direct mail sent lead to one individual response on average
- 20Direct mail generates 10% more customers than email marketing
Interpretation
If you want people to notice, remember, and act, direct mail is the heavyweight champion: it delivers response rates dozens of times higher than email, an average ROI of more than three times the spend, pieces that linger for 17 days and are opened nearly 90 percent of the time, personalization that more than doubles responses, oversized and dimensional mailers plus catalogs and postcards that drive top engagement, and customer acquisition costs similar to PPC while producing about 10 percent more customers, making direct mail a tangible, efficient route to immediate returns and lasting relationships.
Trust & Consumer Sentiment
- 182% of consumers trust print ads the most when making a purchase decision
- 256% of customers perceive print marketing as the most trustworthy form of marketing
- 377% of consumers believe print provides a more personal connection than digital interactions
- 48 out of 10 people describe print catalogs as an enjoyable way to shop
- 592% of 18-to-23-year-olds find it easier to read print content than digital content
- 671% of consumers feel that the quality of the paper reflects the quality of the company
- 748% of people retain direct mail for future reference
- 854% of consumers say they want to receive mail from brands they enjoy
- 9Only 27% of consumers trust targeted online display ads compared to significantly higher trust in print
- 1074% of consumers feel overwhelmed by email subscriptions and prefer physical mail for less clutter
- 1146% of consumers would encourage friends to read a print publication
- 1279% of consumers will act on direct mail immediately compared to only 45% who deal with email immediately
- 1355% of consumers ignore email marketing while only 32% ignore direct mail
- 1488% of consumers prefer paper billing over digital billing for important documents
- 1573% of consumers say they prefer mail for receiving information from their insurance providers
- 1661% of people believe receiving physical mail feels special in the digital age
- 17Print advertisements are viewed as less intrusive than 73% of digital ad formats
- 1836% of people under 30 look forward to checking their mailboxes daily
- 1969% of people like receiving coupons in the mail regarding restaurants or retail
- 20Trust in social media ads is 43% whereas trust in print newspapers and magazines is 60%
Interpretation
As inboxes swell and online ads breed skepticism, print quietly wins: consumers find it more trustworthy and personal, easier to read, more reflective of brand quality, likelier to be saved and acted on immediately, and even preferred by younger readers for bills, catalogs and important information.
