Web households heaviest senders of mail

Research released by An Post shows that households with internet access are the heaviest senders and receivers of mail in Ireland.

A total of 61pc of households that regularly send mail have internet access, and of those that send the heaviest volumes, six or more items each week, 64pc have internet access.

The findings are part of a survey on over 600 households’ daily experience of correspondence sent and received, and direct mail. The research was carried out by tns mrbi on behalf of An Post, and participants were questioned about their access to the internet and email, frequency and quantity of mail received and sent, methods of posting and destination of sent mail.

In terms of households that receive addressed mail – which was practically all of them, 59pc have internet access, with that figure rising to 74pc for households that receive more than six items per week. The survey showed that those with access to email are also heavier receivers of addressed mail, with 58pc of households that receive six or more items a week having access.

With regard to social-economic class, ABC1s are the heaviest receivers of both addressed and unaddressed mail. 47 per cent of households that receive six or more addressed items a week are ABC1s, as are the same percentage of those receiving four or more unaddressed items per week.

Over one third of all addressed mail now contains some marketing content, and, of direct mail, 86 per cent is read by the recipient, with over a third kept for future reference.

Liam Sheehan, An Post director of sales and marketing, said, “The survey shows there is a direct connection between internet access and sending and receiving mail – those with access do more of both, which is perhaps surprising given the common perception that use of the internet and email discourages use of the postal system. A challenge for the industry is the finding that just over half of direct mail was described as relevant, but its potential as a powerful marketing communications tool is evident from the amount that is kept for future reference.”