LONDON: The British direct mail market declined in 2006, both by volume and total expenditure, according to the Royal Mail. Volume fell by 2.1% to 5.03 billion items, while expenditure dropped by the same percentage to £2.37bn ($4.58bn; €3.47bn).

In both cases the data reflect the whole UK market, in which the Royal Mail is the largest but not the sole player. And while the overall market contracted slightly, six sectors prospered . . .
  • Education enjoyed the highest growth at 10.4%

  • Charity/non-profit rose 9.5%

  • Leisure and entertainment grew by 3.7%

  • Health increased by 2.8%

  • Home shopping/mail order was up 1.3%

  • "Other financial" (non-bank) grew by 0.2%.
In consumer demographic terms, the total number of mailing pieces assailing the 55-64 age group increased by a substantial 11.5%; while mailings to the top AB socio-economic group inched-up 1.1%.

Data sourced from BrandRepublic (UK); additional content by WARC staff