Direct Mail: Top Channel Influencing Consumer Purchases

Direct Marketing

October 2009 -- In examining the success of traditional and online media channels in driving purchases, ExactTarget’s commissioned 2009 Channel Preference Study finds that for young and old, direct mail directly influenced the purchase of an item or a service more than any other channel.
 

The study on the topic of consumers’ use of different channels for interpersonal communication and their attitudes toward marketing communications, conducted by Forrester Research for the on-demand e-mail communications software company finds:
 

Three of four Internet users surveyed say they were directly influenced to purchase an item or a service thanks to a  direct mail piece (76%); TV came in second at 67% and email third at 58%.

 

Source: ExactTarget 2009 Channel Preference Study

In addition:
 

• Three-quarters (75%) of 25 to 34-year-olds have made a purchase resulting from direct mail.  An almost identical number have been directly influenced by a TV commercial
  
  
• Young adults, 18 to 24 year old, are also most likely to be influenced by direct mail (62%), with older consumers even more likely to have made a purchase as a result of this channel. The only exception is for teens, where direct mail-influenced purchases (55%) are second to television commercials (62%).
  
  

• Across every age group, email is third on the list of channels evaluated (in terms of percentage of consumers who have made a purchase as the direct result of a marketing message), behind direct mail and television commercials. Teens are least likely to have made online purchases through email (36%).
   

About:  Data for ExactTarget’s 2009 Channel Preference Study was collected between June 12, 2009 and June 17, 2009 through an online survey of 1,579 internet users living in the United States. Individuals in the marketing profession were screened from taking the survey.  The sample was drawn from the TrueSample™ online panel maintained by MarketTools. The sample is stratified according to age with a minimum of 205 respondents in each of seven age ranges. Respondents were invited to participate in the survey through email.
 

Source:  ExactTarget, 2009 Channel Preference Study, accessed November 3, 2009.  Available free from ExactTarget with registration.