• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 10, 2007

According to a new Vertis Communications Retail Direct Mail survey, 90 percent of male direct mail readers, age 18-34, read grocery store direct mail pieces, compared to 83 percent of female direct mail readers this same age.  The study finds that men in older age groups are less likely to read grocery store direct mail, while older women read increasingly more. Specifically:

• 80% of men age 35-49 and 79 percent of men age 50 and older indicate they read grocery store direct mail pieces
• 88% of women age 35-49 and 89 percent of women age 50 and older indicate they read direct mail pieces from grocery store retailers
• 67% of middle-aged men age 35-49 read direct mail items from a value retailer
• 87% of women this same age read this same category of direct mail 

Jim Litwin, vice president of market insights at Vertis Communications, says "...Marketers looking to bring men into grocery and value retailers should target direct mail to young bachelors living alone. Similarly, as women become older and gain control over household purchasing decisions, they become more responsive to retail direct mail targeted toward them.”

The study reports that 74% of men age 18-34 respond to retail direct mail that offers a discount off one single item, compared to only 61% of women this age. The results also indicate attraction to gift cards sharply declines with a man’s age, as only 36% of men 35-49 and 33% of men 50 and older have responded to direct mail offering retail gift cards.

The report also revealed the following to help focus marketing: 

• 88% of total adults say they read direct mail from discount retailers, but only 31% of all adults read direct mail issued from upscale department stores
• 78% of Generation X consumers (1965-1976) read direct mail pieces from a value retailer, compared to 73% of Generation Y consumers (1977-1994)
• 67% of Gen X consumers read retail direct mail from home improvement stores, and 56% read office supply store direct mail
• 37% of Gen Y consumers have responded to retail direct mail offering a gift with purchase, as opposed to 30% of Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) and 31% of all adults
• 70% of Gen Y consumers say they’ve responded to retail direct mail with a percent-off discount, compared to 61% of Baby Boomers and 63% of total adults
• 56% of Gen Y consumers indicate they respond to direct mail offering gift cards, while 49% of Baby Boomers and 48% of total adults respond to such gift card offers
• 76% of consumers with an annual income of $100,000 or higher have responded to buy one get one free retail direct mail offers, compared to 72% of consumers earning $30,000 or less a year
• 69% of consumers earning $100,000 or more each year have responded to direct mail offering percentage-off a retail purchase, as opposed to 59% of consumers making an annual salary of $30,000 or less

To view the full report with supporting charts, please go here.