Direct mail spending rises 8.5%

LONDON - Direct mail continues to be one of the most popular ways of reaching consumers and businesses as spending on the medium rose 8.5% in the July to September period, according to recent figures from the Direct Mail Information Service.

Direct mail expenditure during this quarter rose to 拢553.9m, with 42% of this figure being taken up by postage costs and the rest by production.

The number of direct mail items sent during this period was up 7.7% on last year to 1.21bn items.

The growth in volume was boosted by a 8.7% increase in business-to-consumer mailings and a 8.7% rise in business-to-business mailings.

Financial services companies and home shopping firms continue to be the biggest users of direct mail, sending 212m and 143.9m items respectively. However, financial services mailing grew by just 2.7%, while home shopping mailing jumped 17.2% on last year.

Jo Howard-Brown, managing director of DMIS, said: "Another successful quarter for direct mail. The medium continues to go from strength to strength and if the trend continues we will see another record year for direct mail."

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