Advertisers going for online direct marketing?

Direct marketing figures in the UK declined last year, according to Royal Mail, as direct mail volumes fell by 2.1 per cent.

This was despite sector growth, particularly from building societies, which boosted their direct mail volumes by more than 18 per cent.

A separate study by the postal service also revealed that consumers are receptive to discounts and offers received via doordrops and direct mail.

Some seven in ten people surveyed by TNS for Royal Mail used a free sample received as direct mail and 37.6 per cent used a discount voucher, while 15 per cent sought more information and 36 per cent at least read the mail before binning it.

Falling volumes despite a continued consumer engagement with direct mail could be attributed to a shift to online direct marketing. The Royal Mail study revealed a rise in direct mail targeting the 55- to 64-year-old age group – traditionally a less web-savvy demographic.

But a recent report from Axa found that so-called silver surfers are on the increase, something that can´t have escaped the online direct marketing community.

The survey revealed that 41 per cent of retired people preferred surfing the internet to other more traditional hobbies such as gardening and DIY