A. Guttmann
Research Lead covering media
Direct mail advertising and marketing in the United States – statistics & facts
Is direct mail marketing facing its biggest challenge in the United States since the pandemic? According to early 2025 projections, most traditional advertising channels would experience a decline in revenue following the 2024 peak, boosted by the presidential elections. Direct mail's ad spending in the U.S. was forecast to decrease by little more than one percent in 2025. A year earlier, the average number of direct mail marketing pieces received by a U.S. household plummeted by one-fifth – a decline deeper than that seen in 2020. However, a late 2024 survey revealed that four in five U.S. marketers and media professionals planned to raise their direct mail spending in the following year. The apparently conflicting figures point to the crossroads where this marketing tactic finds itself: Direct mail has to endure the consumer habit shift that reduces traditional media's overall presence in shoppers' routines, but it remains a darling of the ad industry thanks to its trackability and personalized features' appeal to recipients.
