Ditching Saturday (and Monday and Friday) post could irrevocably damage the direct mail industry

[POSTMAN]

https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2024/02/0 ... l-industry

The recent news of a potential reduction in the Universal Service Obligation (USO) delivery days by Ofcom has sent ripples through the direct mail industry.

A leaked report earlier in the week suggested a move from six to five delivery days per week, effectively removing Saturday deliveries. Then this morning another story suggests that Royal Mail could move to a three-day week! It’s hard to keep up. But whatever, the outcome, the proposed plans will raise questions about the impact on direct mail campaigns.

The Significance of Saturdays in Direct Mail
Traditionally, Saturday has been a golden day for direct mail campaigns. A weekend delivery often catches recipients in a more relaxed state, leading to better engagement and response rates.

For instance, according to JICMAIL figures mail delivered on a Saturday is statistically more likely to be opened and read than any other day. Moreover, recipients are 2% more likely to do something with the information, 2% more likely to discuss the contents and 1% more likely to take an online action than mail received on a week day. Frequency of interaction is also higher on a Saturday standing at 4.52, whilst weekday mean average is 4.37.

Admittedly, whilst the uplift for all these metrics isn’t huge, Saturday does still outperform every other day of the week and these small percentages all add up ultimately, contributing to a higher campaign ROI.

Direct Mail's Enduring Effectiveness
More statistics from JICMAIL show that effectiveness of mail is soaring. Across all measured metrics increases have been recorded such as open rates, time spent, percentage of mail resulting in a commercial action etc. As a result, it is unsurprising that the most recent Bellwether Report, out last week, shows that investment in direct mail by brands has risen to its highest level in 20 years.

Direct mail offers a tangible and personal touch, often standing out amid the digital noise. It is now the most trusted form of advertising. This physical presence in a recipient's home provides an opportunity for more profound engagement, a contrast to the fleeting nature of emails and digital ads, which is why canning Saturday delivery could have a profound impact on mail effectiveness.

Not only that but a reduction of 1, 2 or even 3 days could damage consumer perception. People will continue to receive the same amount of direct mail. But it will be delivered in a smaller window, making it seem that people are receiving more. It has taken years for the industry to shed its ‘carpet bombing’ reputation but it looks likely it will make an unwelcome return.

The Imperative to Consider Industry Impact
As Ofcom and Royal Mail deliberate on these potential changes, it's crucial to recognise the substantial contributions of the direct mail industry to the economy. It’s not just a matter of logistics and cost-saving; it’s about understanding the relationship between delivery schedules and marketing effectiveness. The direct mail industry has shown remarkable resilience and adaptability, especially in the face of the digital revolution and a global pandemic. Any changes to the postal service days must be weighed against the possible repercussions on an industry that has proven both its economic value and adaptability.

The future of postal services is not just about the frequency of deliveries, but also about supporting industries that rely on these services to connect, engage, and thrive in an increasingly digital world.

[ted_e_bear]

By direct mail do they mean advertising type stuff, dare I say some might call it "junk mail" probably enters the system as DSA if so isn't this the aspect of the business they don't really want anyway

[guardianangel]

Who ever thinks we will get saturdays off can think again somebody is still going to have to deliver all the small tracked parcels ,i had 67 today and thats without special deliveries and collections or are they going to be putting those prices up like some companies and charge £9.99 for a saturday delivery hoping that no one uses it ,one thing is for sure if Royal Mail hierarchy and the CWU are involved it will be one big s**t show.

[Mr Rush]

Criminy! 1%? 2%? Indeed they aren't huge, in fact I wonder if they are even within the margin of error.

Frequency of interaction is also higher on a Saturday standing at 4.52, whilst weekday mean average is 4.37.

Two significant figures seems excessive. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this report 10.00/10.

[qwerty2]

Who ever thinks we will get saturdays off can think again somebody is still going to have to deliver all the small tracked parcels ,i had 67 today and thats without special deliveries and collections or are they going to be putting those prices up like some companies and charge £9.99 for a saturday delivery hoping that no one uses it ,one thing is for sure if Royal Mail hierarchy and the CWU are involved it will be one big s**t show.

Exactly - Saturdays in my office are busier than some weekdays

[norris9]

As Ofcom and Royal Mail deliberate on these potential changes, it's crucial to recognise the substantial contributions of the direct mail industry to the economy.

The future of postal services is not just about the frequency of deliveries, but also about supporting industries that rely on these services to connect, engage, and thrive in an increasingly digital world.

The problem here is Royal Mail is a private company, not a public company, nor a charity.....

The government put a public service into the hands of a private company.....RM are not going to help out other industries if doing so is loss making....

That said, I have no idea how much junk mail benefits the company financially or hinders the business. I have heard door2door leaflets are lucrative for the business, but I don't know about the addressed brochures and leaflets etc...

If they are loss making, why would RM care about those industries unless they are willing to pay more money for their marketing campaigns, or maybe the government is willing to support a USO with some funding.

Royal Mail cannot keep burning money just to support other businesses marketing campaigns. That's plain ridiculous.

[BenacreNick]

I imagine the d2d contracts are pushing up towards £2b now, given that is was £1.5b about 4 years ago.

When you think like that it's not really "junk mail" is it, as its all been paid for by someone.

[scotchy1962]

For a company that keeps moving our start times back, using the green agenda as a excuse, they don't really mind cutting down a few forests worth of d2ds, surely if you really have a green agenda you actively try to keep the paper usage down.
Seeing as how they are actively discouraging letters by continually hiking the price i would imagine d2ds have been hiked too, they probably can't believe these daft companies are still using it and just keep creaming it in, funny enough seeing as how letters are supposedly down from 20 to 7 billion do they add in the d2d ? I bet they don't, but they do class them as mail.
Imagine trying to do them in 3 days.

[fb1969]

As an example "Door drops are great value for money. For example with just £500 we deliver around 8,160 leaflets and for £5000 we deliver approx. 89,686 leaflets.*" depending on size, shape, weight etc.

https://www.royalmail.com/business-camp ... lsrc=aw.ds

[WalkerX]

For a company that keeps moving our start times back, using the green agenda as a excuse, they don't really mind cutting down a few forests worth of d2ds, surely if you really have a green agenda you actively try to keep the paper usage down.
Seeing as how they are actively discouraging letters by continually hiking the price i would imagine d2ds have been hiked too, they probably can't believe these daft companies are still using it and just keep creaming it in, funny enough seeing as how letters are supposedly down from 20 to 7 billion do they add in the d2d ? I bet they don't, but they do class them as mail.
Imagine trying to do them in 3 days.

I think it`s called "greenwashing" but only when it suits.

[ted_e_bear]

As an example "Door drops are great value for money. For example with just £500 we deliver around 8,160 leaflets and for £5000 we deliver approx. 89,686 leaflets.*" depending on size, shape, weight etc.

https://www.royalmail.com/business-camp ... lsrc=aw.ds

I've just looked at that,
"Size and weight – the dimensions and shape of your door drop as well as the type of paper it’s printed on will help determine the price."
Dominos anyone ?
They are quite frankly awful to handle, I hate them.

[fb1969]

From my time delivering, the smaller ones where just as bad. Churchill insurance and Subway both used to do a d2d that were smaller than a postcard. A local estate agent's logo was oval shaped, so their d2d was too. And one that turned up every now and then was pineapple shaped with surprisingly sharp points

[qwerty2]

I remember years ago when you got 3 or more sets nearly ever week
and got an extra £30-40 a week

[postslippete]

I remember when some posties used to deliver other posties leaflets and merge them with their own "households" for a nice little earner, especially if there were several different lots. They used to show how much they were worth on the front, often something like 1.67p and you would multiply this by the number of calls.

Ah happy days, but I quite agree. Now there are nearly twice as many delivery points with the focus being entirely on parcels that half the leaflets don't get delivered but stashed underneath frames for weeks where I assume they end up at landfill somewhere

[TopperGas]

Who ever thinks we will get saturdays off can think again somebody is still going to have to deliver all the small tracked parcels ,i had 67 today and thats without special deliveries and collections or are they going to be putting those prices up like some companies and charge £9.99 for a saturday delivery hoping that no one uses it ,one thing is for sure if Royal Mail hierarchy and the CWU are involved it will be one big s**t show.

Exactly - Saturdays in my office are busier than some weekdays

In my DO a normal week now goes, Monday & Tuesday dead, Wednesday manic, Thursday less manic, Friday & Saturday busy, Monday is the day I'd ditch, then Tuesday would be busy with the two days mail.