Consumers Prefer Printed Communications

A recent survey completed by International Communications Research (ICR) revealed that even in today’s digital world, consumers prefer mail over other communications vehicles (such as e-mail) for receiving new product information and offerings as well as confidential business communications (bank statements, financial reports, etc.)

The study, commissioned by Pitney Bowes, found that the majority of consumers (73 percent) prefer mail for receiving new product announcements or offers from companies they do business with, as compared to 18 percent for e-mail. Mail was also preferred by 70 percent of respondents for receiving unsolicited information on products and services from companies with which they are not currently doing business.

For confidential communications such as bills, bank statements and financial reports, respondents overwhelmingly preferred mail (86 percent) as their channel of choice, as compared with 10 percent for e-mail. This response is virtually identical to the response in the 2004 survey, which also showed consumer preference for mail at 86 percent.