Advertising mail spending fell 1% to $59.7 billion in 2008 from $60.2 billion the year before, but still accounted for 22% of all advertising spending and ranked only below television, according to the U.S. Postal Service’s just-released Household Diary study.
Except for the Internet, all other categories, including newspapers, radio, television and magazines declined as well, the USPS reported.
Overall, households received 99.6 billion pieces of advertising mail in 2008, down from 105.1 billion in 2006, according to the study.
In addition, advertising mail represented 63% of all mail received by households in 2008, the report noted.
Overall, 83% of all advertising mail received by households in 2008 was sent out via standard mail in 2008, the report noted.
Between 2006 and 2008, standard mail volume fell 4.5% to 83 billion pieces from 86.9 billion in 2006, the report continued.
Most of this decrease in standard mail came from regular and enhanced carrier route mail, the report added.
In 2008, households received 11.4 presorted standard or bulk mail pieces per week.
Before 2007, standard mail advertising experienced continuous growth, partly as a result of implementing only one postal rate increase in over five years, some diversion from first class mail and a strong overall economy, the report continued.
The study, put out since 1987, seeks to collect information on household use of mail and how it changes over time, according to the USPS.
