DM reduced by 30 per cent post GDPR according to UK householders

Our direct mail tracker reveals that the introduction of GDPR has resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in the amount of direct mail received by UK households. This equates to 2.8 billion less items dropping onto doormats across the country every year.

Prior to the introduction of the new regulation our historic data shows that on average households received 9.9 billion items of advertising mail a year (seven per week, per household). However, since GDPR came into force this amount has shrunk to 7.1 billion or five items of direct mail per household, per week.

Households in Leeds, Brighton and Plymouth were found to have experienced the largest reduction in direct mail volumes with drops of 53 per cent, 50 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. All other areas of the UK also experienced reductions except for residents in Sheffield who experienced a 10.2 per cent increase.

People in Liverpool (3.82 pieces per week), Norwich (3.99 pieces per week) and Newcastle (4.14 pieces per week) currently receive the least amount of direct mail, whilst those in Sheffield (6.48 pieces per week), London (5.44 pieces per week) and Birmingham (5.36 pieces per week) receive the most. Historically our figures showed that before GDPR areas receiving the most were Leeds (9.88 pieces per week), Brighton (9.49 pieces per week) and London (8.01 pieces per week) and the least were Sheffield (5.88 pieces per week), Bristol (6.23 pieces per week) and Southampton (6.61 pieces per week).

We all knew that GDPR was going to have an impact on mail volumes and this has already been proven by Royal Mail figures. However, this research is interesting as it is based on what consumers themselves say/believe they receive. It is heartening that the reduction is converting into perceived relevance with 45 per cent of consumers reporting that the advertising mail they receive is more relevant since GDPR. As a result of this we are increasingly seeing new brands testing the channel such as Just Eat and historic direct mail users return to the channel. Perception amongst marketers is also changing – effectiveness is now not tied to volume, it is tied to response which is an incredibly positive step change for the sector.