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Direct Mail Marketing Statistics 2026: Volume, Response Rates, ROI and Attention

USPS delivered 56.77 billion pieces of Marketing Mail in fiscal 2025, down 1.3% on the year and 29.1% in ten years. Marketing Mail is still more than half of all US mail. Revenue still rose 2.2% in fiscal 2025 because USPS earned more per piece: 27.8 cents, up 3.5%. The best free response data comes from the UK. JICMAIL puts the average response rate at 1% for cold direct mail and 6.3% for mail to existing customers, with an average return of £2.10 and £8.80 per £1. UK households spent 151 seconds with the average direct mail item in Q2 2026.

Key statistics

Direct mail volume statistics (USPS)

USPS reports advertising mail as Marketing Mail. It counts every piece, so it is the most complete count of direct mail volume we found. The US fiscal year runs from October to September.

Marketing Mail volume is shrinking, but slowly. It fell 1.3% in fiscal 2025, against 5.1% for First-Class Mail. Over ten years Marketing Mail lost 29.1% of its volume and First-Class Mail lost 33.4%. So advertising mail now makes up a slightly larger share of what USPS delivers, at 52.2% of all pieces in fiscal 2025.

The steepest single drop came in fiscal 2020, which covered the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, when volume fell 15.2%. Volume was higher in fiscal 2022 than in 2020 but has fallen every year since. The first nine months of fiscal 2026 were down 3.2%. The April to June 2026 quarter broke the pattern, with volume up 4.3% and revenue up 12.3%. USPS credits strength in Marketing Mail and price increases. It does not say which senders drove the extra volume.

Within Marketing Mail, the mix is moving. Standard letters are two thirds of the volume and held steady. High Density letters grew 11.7%. Carrier Route mail fell 21.0% and Flats fell 14.8%. For how US advertisers split budgets between mail and screens, see our TV advertising statistics.

USPS Marketing Mail volume by fiscal year, billion pieces
  • FY2014 80.37bn
  • FY2015 80.09bn
  • FY2018 77.31bn
  • FY2019 75.69bn
  • FY2020 64.18bn
  • FY2022 67.12bn
  • FY2023 59.44bn
  • FY2024 57.54bn
  • FY2025 56.77bn

Sources: USPS Revenue, Pieces and Weight reports FY2015, FY2019, FY2023 and FY2025 (each gives the year and the year before), and the FY2020 Q4 Quarterly Statistics Report. FY2016, FY2017 and FY2021 not shown.

  1. USPS delivered 56.77 billion pieces of Marketing Mail in fiscal year 2025, down 1.3% from fiscal 2024, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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  2. USPS Marketing Mail revenue rose 2.2% to $15.78 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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  3. Marketing Mail made up 52.2% of all pieces handled by USPS in fiscal year 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from United States Postal Service data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: 56,767,091 thousand Marketing Mail pieces / 108,694,816 thousand total pieces (Total All Mail) = 52.2%.

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  4. Marketing Mail brought in 20.7% of USPS mail and shipping revenue in fiscal year 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from United States Postal Service data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: $15,779,239 thousand Marketing Mail revenue / $76,197,778 thousand Total All Mail revenue = 20.7%.

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  5. USPS delivered 1.35 Marketing Mail pieces for every First-Class Mail piece in fiscal year 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from United States Postal Service data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: 56,767,091 thousand Marketing Mail pieces / 42,182,387 thousand First-Class Mail pieces = 1.35.

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  6. US Marketing Mail volume fell 29.1% in ten years, from 80.09 billion pieces in fiscal 2015 to 56.77 billion in fiscal 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: FY2015 Standard Mail (the class name in the FY2015 report) 80,090,273 thousand pieces; FY2025 Marketing Mail 56,767,091 thousand pieces (FY2025 RPW report). 56,767,091 / 80,090,273 - 1 = -29.1%.

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  7. US First-Class Mail volume fell 33.4% between fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2025, faster than Marketing Mail, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: FY2015 First-Class Mail 63,305,152 thousand pieces (FY2015 RPW); FY2025 42,182,387 thousand (FY2025 RPW). 42,182,387 / 63,305,152 - 1 = -33.4%.

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  8. US Marketing Mail volume fell 15.2% in fiscal year 2020, from 75.69 billion to 64.18 billion pieces, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: FY2020 Q4 year-to-date report: Marketing Mail 64,180,125 thousand pieces in FY2020 vs 75,690,047 thousand in FY2019. 64,180,125 / 75,690,047 - 1 = -15.2%.

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  9. USPS Marketing Mail volume rose 4.3% and revenue 12.3% in the April to June 2026 quarter, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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  10. USPS delivered 41.85 billion Marketing Mail pieces in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, down 3.2% year on year, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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  11. Letters made up 66.8% of US Marketing Mail pieces in fiscal year 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from United States Postal Service data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: Marketing Mail Letters 37,941,879 thousand pieces / total Marketing Mail 56,767,091 thousand = 66.8%. Excludes High Density and Saturation letters, which USPS reports separately.

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  12. USPS Carrier Route Marketing Mail volume fell 21.0% to 2.73 billion pieces in fiscal year 2025, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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  13. USPS High Density Marketing Mail letter volume grew 11.7% to 3.43 billion pieces in fiscal year 2025, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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  14. USPS delivered 559.2 million Every Door Direct Mail Retail pieces in fiscal year 2025, down 4.1%, according to the United States Postal Service.

    Official Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

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USPS Marketing Mail by product, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025)
ProductPieces (millions)Change in pieces vs FY2024Revenue ($ millions)Revenue per piece (our calculation)
Letters37,941.9+0.3%10,360.327.3 cents
Saturation Flats and Parcels6,540.0-2.4%1,300.319.9 cents
High Density Letters3,434.1+11.7%846.624.7 cents
Carrier Route2,734.1-21.0%1,099.140.2 cents
Saturation Letters2,590.9+5.2%487.918.8 cents
Flats1,650.9-14.8%1,122.468.0 cents
High Density Flats and Parcels1,304.6-10.7%371.628.5 cents
Every Door Direct Mail Retail559.2-4.1%127.422.8 cents
Parcels11.4-37.4%45394.1 cents
Total Marketing Mail56,767.1-1.3%15,779.227.8 cents
Source: USPS Revenue, Pieces and Weight report, FY2025. Revenue per piece calculated by StatisticsGlobal (revenue / pieces).

Direct mail response rate statistics

The most quoted US response rates come from the ANA Response Rate Report, which is for members only. We could not check it, so we do not use it. The best free campaign data is from JICMAIL, the UK industry body for mail measurement. Its Response Rate Tracker pools 4,939 real campaigns from 15 organisations.

Who you mail matters most. Mail to existing customers (warm) drew a 6.3% average response from 2023 to 2025. Mail to prospects (cold) drew 1%, so warm mail responds 6.3 times as well. Partially addressed mail, sent to an address without a name, sits between cold mail and door drops at 0.7%. Unaddressed door drops are lowest at 0.3%, but they are also the cheapest to send.

Response is rising. JICMAIL says cold and warm direct mail response rates both grew by over 20% in 2025. Its quarterly release gives the detail for retailers, with warm response up 26% and cold up 21%.

Size and purpose change results. Among warm retail mailings in 2025, A4 letters drew 9.6% and postcards 3.5%. Campaigns that aimed to build the brand as well as drive response averaged 9.3%, against 1.9% for response-only campaigns. These are averages across many sectors. A single campaign can land well above or below them.

Response rate by format, warm retail direct mail, UK, 2025
  • Postcard 3.50%
  • A5 6.60%
  • A4 9.60%

Source: JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker 2025, n=634 warm retail campaigns.

  1. Cold direct mail had an average response rate of 1% in the UK across 2023 to 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  2. Warm direct mail sent to existing customers had an average response rate of 6.3% in the UK across 2023 to 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  3. Door drops had an average response rate of 0.3% in the UK across 2023 to 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  4. Partially addressed mail had an average response rate of 0.7% in the UK across 2023 to 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  5. Warm direct mail drew 6.3 times the response rate of cold direct mail in the UK across 2023 to 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: Warm DM average response 6.3% / cold DM average response 1% = 6.3 times (JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker, 2023-2025 averages).

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  6. Cold and warm direct mail response rates in the UK grew by over 20% in 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  7. A4 warm retail mailers had a 9.6% response rate in the UK in 2025, against 3.5% for postcards, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  8. A4 warm retail mailers drew a response rate 6.1 points higher than postcards in the UK in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: A4 9.6% minus postcard 3.5% = 6.1 points (warm retail direct mail, 634 campaigns, 2025). JICMAIL gives the ratio as 2.7 times.

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  9. UK mail campaigns with both brand and response goals averaged a 9.3% response rate from 2022 to 2025, against 1.9% for response-only campaigns, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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Average response rate and ROI by mail type, UK, JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker 2023 to 2025
Mail typeAverage response rateAverage ROI (return per £1)Share of campaigns in tracker
Warm direct mail (existing customers)6.3%£8.8042%
Cold direct mail (prospects)1%£2.1047%
Partially addressed mail0.7%£2.302%
Door drops (unaddressed)0.3%£4.08%
Source: JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker, Full Year 2025 Update (June 2026), n=4,939 campaigns. Dated copy of the figures: /data/snapshots/jicmail/jicmail-figures-2026-10-24.csv.

Direct mail ROI statistics

JICMAIL reports return on investment as revenue per £1 spent, from campaign data that advertisers submit. On the cost side, USPS revenue per piece shows what US mailers pay in postage on average.

Warm direct mail pays back best, at £8.80 per £1 on average from 2023 to 2025. Cold mail returns £2.10, which is still positive. Door drops nearly doubled their return to £5.28 in 2025, 32% above their three-year average of £4.0. Scale helps too. Cold campaigns of over 100,000 items returned £2.7 per £1, 69% more than campaigns of up to 25,000 items.

Sector results vary widely. Mail order firms got £3.1 per £1 from cold mail, while charities got £0.2. Charity mail often aims to recruit long-term donors, so a first-response ROI may understate its value. JICMAIL does not publish exactly how each contributor measures revenue, so treat ROI figures as benchmarks rather than targets.

In the US, postage is getting dearer. USPS earned 27.8 cents per Marketing Mail piece in fiscal 2025, up 3.5% in a year and 25.7% in ten years, before inflation. In the April to June 2026 quarter it was 29.2 cents. Rising price per piece is why USPS revenue grew while volume fell. Every Door Direct Mail Retail, the self-service option for small businesses, averaged 22.8 cents.

Average ROI by mail type, UK, return per £1 spent, 2023 to 2025
  • Warm direct mail 8.80
  • Door drops 4.00
  • Partially addressed 2.30
  • Cold direct mail 2.10

Source: JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker, Full Year 2025 Update (2023 to 2025 averages).

  1. Cold direct mail returned an average ROI of £2.10 in the UK across 2023 to 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  2. Warm direct mail returned an average ROI of £8.80 in the UK across 2023 to 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  3. Door drop campaign ROI nearly doubled to £5.28 in the UK in 2025, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  4. UK door drop ROI of £5.28 in 2025 was 32% above the 2023 to 2025 average of £4.0, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: £5.28 (2025) / £4.0 (2023-2025 average) - 1 = +32%. Both from the JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker 2026 update.

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  5. Cold direct mail campaigns of 100,000+ items returned 69% more per pound than campaigns of up to 25,000 items in the UK from 2022 to 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: ROI £2.7 (100k plus items) / £1.6 (up to 25k items) - 1 = +69%. n=1,637 cold DM campaigns, 2022 to 2025.

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  6. UK mail campaigns with brand and response goals returned 41% more per pound than response-only campaigns from 2022 to 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: ROI £8.20 (response and brand, n=625 campaigns) / £5.80 (response only, n=2,778 campaigns) - 1 = +41%.

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  7. USPS earned 27.8 cents per Marketing Mail piece in fiscal year 2025, up 3.5% from 26.8 cents in fiscal 2024, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: FY2025: $15,779,239 thousand / 56,767,091 thousand pieces = 27.80 cents. FY2024: $15,445,967 thousand / 57,538,887 thousand = 26.84 cents. 27.80 / 26.84 - 1 = +3.5%.

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  8. USPS earned 29.2 cents per Marketing Mail piece in the April to June 2026 quarter, up from 27.2 cents a year earlier, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: Q3 FY2026: $4,028,752 thousand / 13,784,776 thousand pieces = 29.23 cents. Q3 FY2025: $3,588,888 thousand / 13,210,374 thousand = 27.17 cents.

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  9. USPS revenue per Marketing Mail piece rose 25.7% in ten years, from 22.1 cents in fiscal 2015 to 27.8 cents in fiscal 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: FY2015: $17,711,220 thousand / 80,090,273 thousand pieces = 22.11 cents. FY2025: $15,779,239 thousand / 56,767,091 thousand = 27.80 cents. 27.80 / 22.11 - 1 = +25.7%. Nominal, not adjusted for inflation.

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  10. USPS earned 22.8 cents per Every Door Direct Mail Retail piece in fiscal year 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from United States Postal Service data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: EDDM Retail revenue $127,429 thousand / 559,192 thousand pieces = 22.79 cents.

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Cold direct mail benchmarks by sector, UK, JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker 2022 to 2025 average
SectorResponse rateROI (return per £1)Cost per acquisitionAverage order value
Mail order1.3%£3.1£65£596
Medical0.4%£2.6£634£1,683
Financial and insurance services0.8%£2.4£106£279
Retail and online retail0.8%£1.8£145£293
Charity0.7%£0.2£161£27
Source: JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker, Full Year 2025 Update, p.17. Sectors with at least 10 campaigns per metric. JICMAIL labels these as 2022 to 2025 averages, while its headline benchmarks are labelled 2023 to 2025.

Direct mail engagement and attention statistics

JICMAIL also runs a panel of about 1,100 UK households who log every item of mail they receive and what they do with it. That shows how long mail stays in the home and how much attention it gets, not only whether people respond.

Attention to mail has grown. Households spent 151 seconds with the average direct mail item in Q2 2026, up 39.8% from 108 seconds in Q4 2022. Door drops get less than half as much attention, at 70 seconds. Business mail such as bills and statements gets the most, at 197 seconds.

Mail lingers. The average direct mail item stayed in the home for 7.4 days and was picked up 4.41 times. That frequency fell 3.2% on the year. JICMAIL links the dip to a sixfold rise in political party mail before the May 2026 local elections, which people handle less often than commercial mail.

Mail drives action online and in store. 9.5% of all mail items prompted a website visit in Q2 2026 and 5.6% prompted a purchase, payment or donation. The share of mail-driven purchases made in store jumped from 34% to 41%, which JICMAIL credits to more supermarket mail. Direct mail with a QR code was 60% more likely than average to send someone to a website.

Seconds of attention per mail item, UK, Q4 2022 to Q2 2026
  • Direct mail
  • Door drops
0s 20s 40s 60s 80s 100s 120s 140s 160s Q4 2022Q3 2024Q2 2026 mail 151.00s Door drops 70.00s

Source: JICMAIL Q2 2026 Results, item data Q4 2022 to Q2 2026, n=152,903 mail items.

  1. UK households spent 151 seconds on the average direct mail item in Q2 2026, up from 145 seconds a year earlier, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  2. Attention per UK direct mail item rose 39.8% from 108 seconds in Q4 2022 to 151 seconds in Q2 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: 151 seconds (Q2 2026) / 108 seconds (Q4 2022) - 1 = +39.8%. JICMAIL item data, n=152,903 items.

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  3. UK households spent 70 seconds on the average door drop in Q2 2026, up from 60 seconds a year earlier, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  4. Addressed direct mail held 2.2 times as much attention as door drops in the UK in Q2 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from JICMAIL data.

    Our analysis Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: 151 seconds per direct mail item / 70 seconds per door drop = 2.16 times (Q2 2026).

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  5. The average UK direct mail item stayed in the home for 7.4 days in Q2 2026, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  6. UK direct mail items were interacted with 4.41 times on average in Q2 2026, down 3.2% year on year, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  7. 75% of UK mail items were read, looked at or glanced at in Q2 2026, down from 76% a year earlier, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  8. 9.5% of UK mail items prompted a visit to the sender's website in Q2 2026, up from 9.2% a year earlier, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  9. 5.6% of UK mail items prompted a purchase, payment or donation in Q2 2026, up from 5.3% a year earlier, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  10. 41% of UK mail-driven purchases were made in store in Q2 2026, up from 34% a year earlier, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  11. UK direct mail with a QR code was 60% more likely than the average mail item to prompt a website visit in Q2 2026, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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  12. Political party direct mail volumes on the UK JICMAIL panel rose sixfold year on year in Q2 2026, according to JICMAIL.

    Industry body Source: JICMAIL Saved data copy Verified

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How UK households engage with each type of mail, JICMAIL panel, Q2 2026
Mail typeAttention per itemInteractions in 28 daysDays kept in the homePeople reached per item
Direct mail (addressed advertising)151 seconds4.47.41.14
Door drops (unaddressed)70 seconds3.16.01.07
Partially addressed mail100 seconds4.06.91.06
Business mail (bills, statements)197 seconds4.98.91.16
Source: JICMAIL Q2 2026 Results (September 2026), panel of about 1,100 UK households. Dated copy of the figures: /data/snapshots/jicmail/jicmail-figures-2026-10-24.csv.

Direct mail spend and marketer sentiment

Spend data is patchy. The UK has an official-style count from the Advertising Association and WARC. The US has no free total for direct mail spend, so we use postal data and a marketer survey. Canada Post reports its own advertising mail.

UK advertisers spent £966.9 million on direct mail in 2025, flat on the year and 2.1% of all UK ad spend. The outlook improved during 2026. In April, AA/WARC expected direct mail spend to fall 1.8% this year. After spend grew 7.9% in the first quarter, the July forecast was for growth of 2.9%, then no growth in 2027.

Large US mailers say they are leaning in. In Lob's 2026 survey of 250 North American leaders at companies sending over a million pieces a year, mail took 25% of marketing budgets and 9 in 10 had raised investment. Lob sells direct mail software, so its sample is close to the industry. The same survey shows weak measurement. Only 22% tracked QR codes and 87% called printing, shipping and delivery blind spots.

Other countries show bigger falls. Canada Post's Direct Marketing volume dropped 9.8% in 2025, to about 3.8 billion pieces, after labour disruption stopped Neighbourhood Mail deliveries in the second half of the year. UK addressed letters of all kinds fell 2.0% to 6.5 billion in the year to March 2025. US Marketing Mail alone was 8.7 times that number. For another performance channel with UK and US data, see our affiliate marketing statistics.

  1. UK advertisers spent £966.9 million on direct mail in 2025, up 0.3% on 2024, according to the Advertising Association and WARC.

    Industry body Source: Advertising Association and WARC Saved data copy Verified

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  2. Direct mail took 2.1% of total UK advertising spend in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Advertising Association and WARC data.

    Our analysis Source: Advertising Association and WARC Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: £966.9 million direct mail / £46,682.7 million all media total = 2.07%.

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  3. UK direct mail advertising spend grew 7.9% year on year in Q1 2026, according to the Advertising Association and WARC.

    Industry body Source: Advertising Association and WARC Saved data copy Verified

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  4. UK direct mail advertising spend is forecast to grow 2.9% in 2026 and 0.0% in 2027, according to the Advertising Association and WARC.

    Industry body Source: Advertising Association and WARC Saved data copy Verified

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  5. The AA/WARC 2026 forecast for UK direct mail spend rose 4.7 points between April and July 2026, from -1.8% to +2.9%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Advertising Association and WARC data.

    Our analysis Source: Advertising Association and WARC Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: July 2026 forecast for 2026: +2.9% (Q1 2026 release). April 2026 forecast for 2026: -1.8% (2025 full-year release). 2.9 - (-1.8) = 4.7 points.

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  6. North American companies sending 1 million+ mail pieces put 25% of marketing budgets into direct mail, in Lob's 2026 survey of 250 leaders.

    Vendor survey Source: Lob Saved data copy Verified

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  7. 9 in 10 North American direct mail leaders said they had increased investment in the channel this year, in Lob's 2026 survey.

    Vendor survey Source: Lob Saved data copy Verified

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  8. 99% of North American direct mail teams used AI or automation in their programmes, in Lob's 2026 survey.

    Vendor survey Source: Lob Saved data copy Verified

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  9. 87% of North American direct mail leaders called printing, shipping and delivery major blind spots, in Lob's 2026 survey.

    Vendor survey Source: Lob Saved data copy Verified

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  10. Only 22% of North American direct mail leaders tracked QR code responses, in Lob's 2026 survey.

    Vendor survey Source: Lob Saved data copy Verified

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  11. Canada Post Direct Marketing volumes fell 9.8% and revenue 4.5% in 2025, according to Canada Post.

    Official Source: Canada Post Saved data copy Verified

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  12. Canada Post delivered about 3.8 billion Direct Marketing pieces in 2025, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Canada Post data.

    Our analysis Source: Canada Post Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: A fall of 417 million pieces equal to 9.8% implies 2024 volume of 417 / 0.098 = about 4.26 billion and 2025 volume of about 3.84 billion. Rounded, as the published percentage is rounded.

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  13. UK addressed letter volumes fell 2.0% to 6.5 billion in the year to March 2025, according to Ofcom.

    Official Source: Ofcom Saved data copy Verified

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  14. US Marketing Mail volume in fiscal 2025 was 8.7 times the number of all UK addressed letters in 2024-25, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from USPS and Ofcom data.

    Our analysis Source: United States Postal Service Saved data copy Verified

    How we calculated it: 56.77 billion USPS Marketing Mail pieces (FY2025, Oct 2024 to Sep 2025) / 6.5 billion UK addressed letters (Ofcom, Apr 2024 to Mar 2025) = 8.7. Periods overlap but differ; UK figure covers all letters, not only advertising.

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Direct mail and letter mail trends by country, latest full year
CountryMeasureLatest valueChange vs previous yearPeriod
United StatesUSPS Marketing Mail pieces56.77 billion-1.3%Oct 2024 to Sep 2025
United StatesUSPS Marketing Mail revenue$15.78 billion+2.2%Oct 2024 to Sep 2025
United KingdomDirect mail advertising spend£966.9 million+0.3%2025
United KingdomAll addressed letters (not only advertising)6.5 billion-2.0%Apr 2024 to Mar 2025
CanadaCanada Post Direct Marketing piecesAbout 3.8 billion (our estimate)-9.8%2025
CanadaCanada Post Direct Marketing revenueNot given in dollars-4.5%2025
Sources: USPS RPW report FY2025; Advertising Association and WARC (April 2026); Ofcom Post Monitoring Report 2024-25; Canada Post 2025 results release. Canada volume estimated by StatisticsGlobal from the published 417 million (9.8%) fall.

How these sources measure direct mail

Each source counts something different. Read them side by side and keep each one's scope in mind.

USPS counts every piece and dollar through its Revenue, Pieces and Weight system. Marketing Mail is a postage class, not a definition of advertising. Revenue is postage paid to USPS, not total campaign cost, which also includes design, print and data. Our price-per-piece figures are simple averages across very different products and are not adjusted for inflation.

JICMAIL has two data sets. The Response Rate Tracker pools 4,939 campaigns submitted by 15 organisations, measured with matchback, unique codes and test-and-control groups. Contributors choose what to submit, so results may lean towards better campaigns. JICMAIL does not publish a definition of ROI. The household panel is self-reported in a diary app by about 1,100 UK households. JICMAIL is not in the Wayback Machine, so we keep a dated copy of every figure we use at /data/snapshots/jicmail/.

AA/WARC figures are UK media spend after discounts. Direct mail is the only medium that includes production costs. Lob's survey is run by a direct mail vendor and covers only large North American mailers. Canada Post gives only percentage changes for Direct Marketing, so our volume estimate is rounded. Ofcom's letter count covers all addressed letters, not only advertising.

Frequently asked questions

How much direct mail does USPS deliver each year?

USPS delivered 56.77 billion pieces of Marketing Mail in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). That was 52.2% of all mail it handled.

Is direct mail volume going down?

Yes, slowly. US Marketing Mail fell 1.3% in fiscal 2025 and 29.1% over ten years. The first nine months of fiscal 2026 were down 3.2%, although the April to June 2026 quarter grew 4.3%.

What is a good direct mail response rate?

In UK campaign data from JICMAIL, the average was 6.3% for mail to existing customers and 1% for mail to prospects, from 2023 to 2025. Door drops averaged 0.3%. Free, checkable US averages are not available.

What is the ROI of direct mail?

JICMAIL's UK campaign data shows an average return of £8.80 per £1 for warm direct mail and £2.10 for cold direct mail from 2023 to 2025. Door drops returned £5.28 in 2025.

How much does direct mail cost per piece in the US?

USPS earned an average of 27.8 cents in postage per Marketing Mail piece in fiscal 2025, up 3.5% on the year. In the April to June 2026 quarter the average was 29.2 cents. Print and design costs come on top.

How much do UK advertisers spend on direct mail?

£966.9 million in 2025, according to the Advertising Association and WARC. That is 2.1% of UK ad spend. Spend grew 7.9% in Q1 2026 and is forecast to grow 2.9% in 2026.

Sources

  1. United States Postal Service, Revenue, Pieces and Weight by Classes of Mail and Special Services, FY2025, FY2025 report, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  2. JICMAIL, Response Rate Tracker: Full Year 2025 Update (Master Results 2026), June 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  3. JICMAIL, JICMAIL Q2 2026 Results (full release), September 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  4. United States Postal Service, Revenue, Pieces and Weight by Classes of Mail and Special Services, FY2015, FY2015 report, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  5. United States Postal Service, Quarterly Statistics Report, FY2020 Quarter 4, FY2020 Q4, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  6. United States Postal Service, U.S. Postal Service Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results, 7 August 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  7. United States Postal Service, Quarterly Statistics Report, FY2026 Quarter 3, FY2026 Q3 report (April to June 2026), accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  8. JICMAIL, Q2 2026 Results: Political parties and supermarkets provide a boost to mail engagement and effectiveness, 8 September 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  9. Advertising Association and WARC, AA/WARC updates Advertising Expenditure Report and records £46.7bn media investment in 2025, 30 April 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  10. Advertising Association and WARC, UK Advertising Investment Rises 9.3% to £11.7bn in Q1 2026, 30 July 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  11. Lob, State of Direct Mail: Business Insights 2026, 2026 (key takeaways post dated 17 February 2026), accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  12. Lob, What are the 4 key takeaways from the State of Direct Mail: Business Insights 2026 report?, 17 February 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  13. Canada Post, Canada Post reports $1.57 billion loss before tax for 2025, 20 April 2026, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
  14. Ofcom, Post Monitoring Report: postal services in the financial year 2024-25, 3 December 2025, accessed 24 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy

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