JICMAIL: Mail-Driven Digital Interactions Reach Five-Year High

Results from the second quarter of 2025 revealed that mail-driven digital interactions reached a five-year high.

The report from the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMAIL) revealed the impact of all mail types (Business Mail, Direct Mail, Door Drops, Partially Addressed Mail) on boosting online engagement.

Key results included the finding that 9.2% of Business Mail, Direct Mail and Door Drops prompted a visit to an advertiser website, a five-year high that almost eclipses the 9.4% reading recorded during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Meanwhile, 5.9% of mail prompted an account look-up, another result not seen in half a decade. 

Business Mail Q2 2025 Headline Statistics

Business Mail continued to enjoy a healthy level of engagement, as measured across the key metrics tracked by JICMAIL.

Frequency of interaction across a 28-day period reached 4.86 interactions whilst in the home (+1.3% year-on-year) with each item reaching 1.16 people.

Lifespan in the home jumped 1.9% year-on-year, reaching 8.73 days, while the average Business Mail item was interacted with for 186 seconds, an 11-second increase on 2024’s corresponding period.  

Below is a comparison with other mail types:

Business Mail Attention Holds Steady

Business Mail Attention fell back slightly from its recent 191-second high but remains comfortably above 2024 levels.

Direct Mail Attention climbed 13 seconds year-on-year with the same metric holding up well for Door Drops and Partially Addressed Mail. 

Following a slight decrease, Door Drops are now interacted with for one minute, a return to the previous year’s performance.

• Direct Mail Attention was 145 seconds (+13s y-o-y).
• Partially Addressed Mail Attention was 86 seconds (-2s y-o-y).
• Door Drops Attention was 60 seconds (No change y-o-y).

Download the Q2 2025 Business Mail Factsheet

Mail Proves its Omni-Channel Effectiveness  

Mail continued to display its effectiveness in boosting omni-channel engagement. As well as prompting website visits and account look-ups, the mail channel had a positive impact on acquiring new customers.

This is evidenced by the fact that the overall proportion of mail prompting a purchase increased 15% year-on-year. Half of these purchases were made online. In addition, the proportion of mail prompting voucher redemptions and large-purchase planning also increased.  

These results reflect wider trends around how advertisers are increasingly utilising mail as part of their marketing mix.

JICMAIL-endorsed Nielsen circulation data revealed that combined Door Drops and Direct Mail volumes grew 4% year on year in the first half of 2025.

JICMAIL: “Mail is still proving to be a highly engaging medium among consumers

JICMAIL is the industry’s leading and trusted source of reporting on the effectiveness of mail. The organisation’s comprehensive and independent research is based upon data that offers clear and actionable insight into how to mail can impact upon buying behaviour.

Ian Gibbs, JICMAIL, Director of Data Leadership and Learning, said: “The last time we saw mail engagement and digital effectiveness at similar levels, the nation was locked down at home and highly responsive to in-home advertising. Now five years later life is back to normal, yet mail is still proving to be a highly engaging medium among consumers.

“Furthermore, its strength as a Super Touchpoint channel is that it seamlessly triggers and “hands-over” to other key touchpoints in the customer engagement journey: prompting account look-ups, website visits, app downloads and email sends. While mail is a powerful channel in and of itself, it also stimulates activity across a range of other owned-media channels.”

Mark Cross, Engagement Director, JICMAIL, added: “Since lockdown, consumers have witnessed another rise in ad saturation across digital touchpoints and devices, and in response have been granting advertisers at best, fleeting attention.

Meantime the steady incremental impact of mail that prompts undivided levels of attention in the home, up to 80 times more from an item of mail than from an in-feed ad in social, is increasingly cutting through, and amongst other effects, enriching digital experiences. These consistent results suggest that if you want a better digital experience, send mail!”

Download the Q2 2025 Business Mail Factsheet

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