Study: mail still has a vital role in the digital world

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Consumers still want brands to use both mail and email to communicate with them, new research produced for the Royal Mail reveals.

The study found just over half of people (51%) surveyed said they prefer companies to use a combination of both mail and email, with consumers "very clear" that they have different qualities which make them suited to different types of communication.

More than three times as many people (57%) claimed receiving information from businesses in the mail made them "feel valued", compared with 17% for email. This is an increase of 31% since 2007 when the last comparative study was made.

56% of people surveyed also said they spend time reading mail, an increase of 22% since 2007. Just under half as many people surveyed (27%) said that was the case with email.

Meanwhile, the study found that the key advantage of email was that it was good for follow up, compared to 21% for mail.

The research, undertaken by marketing consultant Peter Field via an analysis of the IPA databank, also found that campaigns that delivered high sales performance included mail than those that did not include mail in the mix (27% more).

Campaigns with mail achieved over twice (205%) the market share growth than campaigns without mail in the mix.

"Our research shows that mail has a vital role to play in the today's digital world and it continues to be a powerful weapon in the marketer's armoury," said Jonathan Harman, managing director Royal Mail MarketReach.

"Email has advantages, not least its speed but consumers are clear that mail and email have different qualities which make each suited to different types of communication.

"Consumers say that mail's core strengths have not only endured the digital revolution but many are actually stronger today than they were before the iPhone."