Shoppers may see more postcards, flyers and catalogs arriving in their mailboxes this summer, as brands like subscription box company Bespoke Post and latte brand Blume experiment with direct mail.
As brands tire of the rising costs and declining revenue of digital advertising, some are incorporating direct mail into the offline mix with good results: The average order value of direct mail customers is about 50% higher than that of average customers, said Alvaro de la Rocha, chief marketing officer at Bespoke Post. Direct mail customers are also 30% more likely to buy apparel from the brand, which sells apparel, outdoor gear, cooking supplies and other goods for affluent shoppers.. He believes part of the benefit is that customers have become accustomed to scrolling through endless ads.
“Direct mail is a classic form of marketing, but it has a new feel to it,” he said. “And there's a lot of concern about low-quality brands, maybe bad reputations, cluttering up the feeds. Being delivered through email gives it a level of credibility that can be helpful.”
Resale marketplace ThredUp is also sending users postcards promoting sales, and superfood latte startup Blume is rolling out a sampling program for one of its new products. But this is early days for marketing budgets. About 85% of e-commerce marketers said direct mail has the highest ROI of any channel, according to a 2024 survey by direct mail marketing company Lob. About 74% of e-commerce brands spend 25% or less of their marketing on direct mail. And about a quarter said direct mail takes up 26% to 50% of their budget.
But the channel is hard to master, and Bespoke Post's De La Rocha says it took multiple approaches to figure out what worked. Around 2018, the company partnered with other DTC brands to create “elegant Valpaks,” De La Rocha said, referring to the decades-old direct marketing company known for sending envelopes filled with coupons for local businesses and other promotions. The mailing list was based on zip codes and did not produce meaningful results.
But when it came time to begin planning for the 2022 holiday marketing, de la Rocha said, the idea of sending catalogs to customers came up. They chose recipients based on similar consumers or households, not zip codes. The results were so good that they repeated the catalog for the 2023 holiday season. Postcards sent in the fall were not as successful as the catalogs, but Bespoke Post experimented that year with smaller mailers for Father's Day.
Still, direct mail spending is only a small part of Bespoke Post's marketing mix. Going forward, de la Rocha is carefully deciding whether to invest more until it sees more results. And the feedback loop for direct mail is quite different from that of digital advertising.. “The final version needs to be sent to the printer about a month before launch, and then once it's finished, you have 30, 60 or 90 days to learn it.”
Polly Wong, president of direct-mail company Berardi Wong, said direct mail has grown steadily over the past five to 10 years. The total amount of mail sent has declined, and larger companies like Victoria's Secret have stopped distributing catalogs as frequently. But Wong said smaller brands are realizing the importance of blending offline and online marketing. Wong said about 400 of the company's DTC clients are currently using direct mail for their customer acquisition and retention campaigns.
“Brands understand they can't put everything together digitally,” Wong says. “Google and Meta can change platforms in an instant, so it could take six months to recover and adapt.” Then there's the cost factor: The cost per click on Google is about $2, but that can cover the cost of three or four fold-out catalog mailers at $0.60 each, Long says.
In terms of content, direct mail can give brands the space to showcase their brand with images, taglines and information that wouldn't necessarily fit in an Instagram post or search bar. Wong says best practices for direct mail include featuring photos of multiple products. “The best way to increase response rates is to get a variety of products in front of your customers,” she says.
Incentives are also an important consideration: Wong says that about 85 percent of companies that use direct mail typically include offers that mirror a standard offer for first-time or repeat customers that they post on their company's website, such as a 10 percent discount.
Karen Danujaja, co-founder and CEO of superfood latte brand Bloom, said direct mail isn't the biggest part of the brand's marketing budget, but it's effective at reaching both consumers and retail buyers. The company has experimented with sending brochures highlighting the latest products, as well as articles and notes from the Bloom team, to buyers and prospects.
The goal, Danudaja said, is to encourage purchases of new products and seasonal specials. As the brand expands its retail sales, he said the method has helped increase orders. “It's a unique touchpoint, reminiscent of the days of the catalog,” he said. “We've seen great returns, so we want to increase the frequency of our deliveries. If profits remain strong, we plan to invest more.”
On the consumer side, Bloom plans to run a direct mail program to potential customers this summer to coincide with its launch in Sprouts and Whole Foods. It is also experimenting with a customer-focused sample direct mail campaign. Fans of the brand can sign up to receive samples of its new hydrating gut powder, Superberry. Those who sign up will receive the samples in the mail.
“We live in an age where there are so many products and brands competing for the customer's attention. Sampling campaigns like this are incredibly unique, they break through the noise and give customers a truly special offer,” she said.
