In 2022, we saw marketers starting to shift their digital marketing budgets to direct mail solutions. This trend has been holding steady as the digital marketing landscape continues to be more crowded and less predictable than traditional offline marketing channels.[1] We also continue to see response rates of 4.4% via direct mail vs .12% via email and other online channels.
While direct mail response rates remain strong, we do see cost increases in postage. The USPS, however, has continued to offer mailers incentives to mail - despite rising postal rates. This year alone, our clients have benefited from postal discounts from programs like the tactile, sensory, and interactive mail piece engagement promotion, the emerging and advanced technology promotion, the reply mail IMbA promotion, the informed delivery promotion, and the retargeting promotion.
In 2024, in addition to continuing to offer many of these discount programs, the USPS is further incentivizing advertisers to take advantage of the impressive direct mail response rates by also offering a different type of promotion: The 2024 Postal Rebate Program. And, these programs can be combined to maximize your savings.
Through this postal rebate program, qualified mailers will receive “postage credits” equal to a 30% discount or $0.11 per piece on first class postage. This credit will be put in your postal account to be applied to future mailings.
In order to qualify, certain criteria must be met. Mailers that mail more than 1 million pieces of first-class direct mail annually and increase their mailed volume over an established baseline period (October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023) will be eligible to receive a rebate on the incremental volume above the baseline volume. If you mailed 1MM postcards this year and mail 1.3MM postcards next year, the additional 300k pieces of first-class mail will drive a postal credit of $33k.
This type of program directly encourages advertisers to mail more and creates the ability to test more direct mail programs that can lead to on-going revenue streams: postcard retargeting, triggered direct mail, email unsubscriber programs, different formats, and versioning. All first-class presort letters, postcards and flats will qualify for the rebate.
Volumes will be calculated, and postal credits can be accrued starting in July and then quarterly after that (in October and January.) Once postal credits are deposited into your account, they can be used as early as the following month or as late as December 31, 2025.
Registration begins mid-November and runs through June 2024.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can benefit from this and other USPS postage discounts, reach out to your NaviStone rep or contact us to schedule a call today.