Will Direct Mail Postage Rates Increase Again?
Direct mail postage rates might increase again in 2021. Yet delivery of catalogs, packages, and even first-class mail has been erratic with frequent delays and missed in-home dates.
USPS 2021 Postage Rates
The US Postal Service filed notice with the PRC last Friday to increase postage rates effective January 24, 2021. Although the overall proposed postage rate increase for Marketing Mail is 1.51%, the increase varies by classification, with Parcels taking the biggest hit: Product% ChangeLetters0.771%Flats3.553%Parcels16.791%High density / saturation letters2.373%High density / saturation flats and parcels0.989%Carrier route3.529%Every Door Direct Mail0.524%Overall increase1.509% Postage for the Letters classification will...
Marketing Mail Postage Rates 2020
The postage rates for Marketing Mail, Periodicals, and other products will increase on January 26, 2020. Catalogs and direct mail postcards are typically mailed in the Marketing Mail class. Below is a PDF that summarizes the key changes to the USPS rates among the various mail classes. There are 5 pages in USPS document. Mouse over the text in the blue banner at the bottom...
Catalog Spotlight: Soft Surroundings
I recently received two Soft Surroundings catalogs within a couple of days of each other. One catalog was a 68 page sale catalog and I noticed that they used two tactics to improve key code capture and highlight catalog awareness. On the right side of the back cover of the catalog, Soft Surroundings added “use your key code to keep receiving our sale catalogs” along...
Catalog News! Proposed 2019 USPS Marketing Mail Promotions
Planning your 2019 catalog circulation plan and creative? Make sure you check out the following promotions. The USPS filed its 2019 Mailing Promotions with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on October 10, 2018 and is awaiting approval. We do not expect any major issues with the approval as many of the promotions have been offered for several years in a row. Tactile, Sensory and Interactive...
Scratch-and-Sniff Stamps
The following announcement was released by the USPS on 5/21/18: The U.S. Postal Service’s first scratch-and-sniff stamps will add the sweet scent of summer to letters of love, friendship, party invitations and other mailings when the Postal Service introduces the Frozen Treats Forever stamps June 20 in Austin, TX. The stamps can be pre-ordered at this link soon for delivery shortly after the June 20 issuance. The...