Snail mail – the original form of direct marketing – lives, according to Australia Post’s ‘Consumer Survey’, showing that the average Australian receives around seven letters per week, with government departments the most prolific users of the medium for communication purposes.

Read rates were high for most sender categories, much higher than standard email open rates, with special interest clubs and government leading the pack with open rates of 79% and 78% respectively. Read rates were less favourable for correspondence from real estate agents and local restaurants, while supermarket communication proved more likely to be read than department store mail.

For all categories respondents of the nationally representative survey preferred to receive correspondence via snail mail than email, although there were high numbers of people with no preference either way. Snail mail is preferred for lengthier or important information while email is preferred for brief information. As could be expected, older generations are more likely to be receptive to mail than email.

Click image to view larger version.

Click image to view larger version.