“Brands will send an average of 67.3 million pieces of mail this year — up from 34.9 million in 2024.”
That’s not a throwaway stat. They’re planning a 94% boost. This comes from the 2025 State of Direct Mail report by Lob, in partnership with Comperemedia (a Mintel company).
And it isn’t some speculative forecast — they surveyed 405 business professionals at enterprise-scale companies across industries (insurance, telecom, finance, healthcare, automotive). The mix included marketing leadership, operational staff, and marketing practitioners — all with direct mail oversight. Participants were asked about their current and planned mail volumes.
The results included some standout takeaways:
- 82% of marketing executives surveyed plan to increase their direct mail budget.
- On average, big brands say they’re planning a 94% year-over-year increase in direct mail volume.
- 79% of executives rank direct mail as the top-performing marketing channel (for their organization).
- 90% of marketing execs say that direct mail enhances the performance of digital campaigns.
What’s Driving the Volume Increases?
Volume is increasing because, when done right, direct mail wins in three important ways: recall, trust, and ROI.
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Attention & Recall
Digital ads are fleeting; they vanish as fast as they’re scrolled past. In contrast, a tangible mail piece has persistence and can linger on a counter, be revisited, or spark curiosity. The physical nature of mail engages the senses (touch, texture) — making it more “real” and harder to ignore.
Research has shown that physical mail drives stronger memory than digital mail alone. Brand recall was 70% higher in a Canada Post study when consumers saw direct mail versus a comparable digital ad. That is increasingly valuable as digital CPMs continue to rise, and audiences continue to tune out.
According to Lob’s Consumer Insights report, 56% of consumers say they remember brands better from mail than from digital touchpoints. Even more evidence that the tactile, persistent nature of mail cuts through the noise.
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Trust & Credibility
Digital channels increasingly suffer from “ad fatigue,” banner blindness, spam filters, and suspicion about tracking. Consumer trust in digital messages is eroding.
Research summarized by Harvard Business Review shows the most-trusted ad formats are still traditional (such as print and mail), outpacing the trust consumers place in digital ads.
In Lob’s findings, 58% of consumers feel overwhelmed by digital brand messaging, whereas 53% say mail feels more special, valuable, or exclusive.
USPS research echoes this, especially with younger audiences: Millennials and Gen Z perceive mail as more personal and credible than many digital touches.
Direct mail is reemerging because it can cut through the digital clutter and feel more human than algorithmic digital feeds. It builds deeper emotional connections, strengthens brand recall, drives incremental revenue, and supports both short-term sales and long-term loyalty.
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Performance & ROI
Simply put, brands are putting more money into channels that deliver the most reliable returns. Compared to Google, Amazon, and Facebook ads, direct mail yielded lower acquisition costs and higher ROAS.
As we noted above, 79% of execs rank direct mail as the top-performing marketing channel. These companies are already using direct mail, and now leaders are confident that increasing their spend will drive a strong return on the investment.
The narrative is: “We believe in mail, we’re doubling down — now we need the tools to do it smarter, not just bigger.”
What to Do Next: Make Direct Mail Work for You
- Don’t wait
The mailbox is a high-impact channel—if you’re not using it, your competitors will. Direct mail drives stronger engagement, emotional impact, and ROI than many digital channels alone
- Test, measure, scale
Direct mail isn’t just execution—it’s data-driven. Small changes in targeting, creative, format, or timing can dramatically improve results. Treat every campaign as an experiment: test, measure, optimize, and scale what works.
- Get smart with data & targeting
Quality data and precise segmentation are essential. Use predictive modeling, look-alike audiences, and life-stage or behavior-based segments. Suppress low-response groups to maximize ROI and continually test new lists and targeting strategies.
- Leverage your customers
Direct mail isn’t just for acquisition. Personalized, timely mail for existing customers—thank-you notes, renewal reminders, milestone offers—reinforces loyalty, boosts repeat purchases, and reduces churn. Paired with data and automation, it’s highly scalable and impactful.
- Send the right message at the right time
Triggered mail delivers personalized messages when key events occur, like a life milestone, website visit, or product inquiry. Timing and relevance drive engagement: these programs often achieve 4–10x higher response rates than standard campaigns.
- Integrate with digital
Mail and digital work best together. Trigger mail can spark email follow-ups, retargeting, and multichannel journeys. Combining channels can increase ROI by 20–40%, creating seamless experiences that move prospects from awareness to action.
The State of Direct Mail: Bottom Line
Direct mail is surging in 2025 for a reason: it drives recall, trust, and action—and marketers are seeing real ROI. If your current approach is still “test a postcard and see,” you risk being outpaced by brands that are measurement-driven and operationally precise.
Ready to make your next mail campaign perform?
At RPM, we specialize in building direct mail programs quickly from the ground up and scaling them into successful ongoing sales channels. Applying years of testing experience and a proven process, we help brands accelerate learning, optimize campaigns, and dramatically increase the odds of success. If you’re ready to explore the full potential of direct mail, let’s plan your next successful launch.
Book a free 30-minute strategy session with RPM to review your current program. You’ll walk away with a prioritized test plan, projected unit economics, and a clear optimization framework.