Of the 拢2.4bn spent on the medium last year, 拢979m was spent on postage, while production of direct mailings cost 拢1.4bn.
The figures were pushed up by a 25% increase in direct mailings by the government sector, while direct mail for home shopping rose 15.1%. Its use by the financial sector was up just 0.3%, as media's use of direct mail fell 11.8% and utilities was down 3.1%.
However, the figures show that growth in the medium term is losing momentum.
The fourth quarter of 2002 saw growth in expenditure and volume slow. For the three months to December, expenditure was up 3.9% to 拢667m on the previous year, while volume was up 3.7% to 1.3bn items.
This compares with growth in spending of 8.5% year on year in the third quarter of 2002.
Business-to-business direct mailings were up 4.1% to 274m items, while the number of items sent to consumers by direct mail climbed 3.7% to 1bn in the last quarter.
Jo Howard-Brown, managing director of DMIS, which measures direct mail volume and expenditure for Royal Mail, said: "Once again direct mail achieved a record year with volume levels continuing to increase. The signs that percentage growth is levelling off year on year may signal the end of boom growth, but direct mail's success story is in the ascendant and the medium remains one of the most top marketing tools."
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