- Over half of consumer respondents reported collecting mail from their physical mailboxes every day that it was delivered.
- Among total survey respondents, the vast majority—over 94%—reported receiving both print AND digital versions for at least some of their transactional communications.
- Almost half of surveyed consumers were currently subscribers of the USPS’s Informed Delivery service.
By Eve Padula
Introduction
Whether we like it or not, transactional communications like bills and statements are a fact of life. Even if we don’t want to be regularly reminded of our financial obligations, that’s not going to stop the bills from coming in. Perhaps the only upshot is that today’s customers have more options than ever when deciding how to interact with their transactional communications.
In late 2022, Keypoint Intelligence conducted a web-based survey of 1,500 consumer respondents to assess their engagement with printed and digital transactional communications. Printed mail is no longer the only way to get bills and statements to customers, but many consumers still recognize and appreciate print’s value.
For Transactional Communications, Printed Mail Remains Popular
There is no question that the digital transformation is upon us, but consumers of all ages continue to recognize the value that printed mail delivers. When asked for their input on print/mail delivery, over half of the surveyed consumer respondents reported collecting mail from their physical mailboxes every day that it was delivered.
Figure 1. Frequency of Mail Collection 
N = 1,500 Total Consumer Respondents
Source: Annual State of Transactional Communications Consumer Survey; Keypoint Intelligence 2022
Many consumers maintain a strong preference for physical mail when it comes to their transactional communications. In fact, respondents to this same survey reported that on average, nearly 43% of their monthly bills and statements were received only in the mail. As we move into the future, printed transactional documents will likely remain popular due to ongoing concerns about the security of online transactions and well-publicized instances of fraud and identity theft.
Figure 2. Share of Bills/Statements Received Only in the Mail
N = 1,500 Total Consumer Respondents
Source: Annual State of Transactional Communications Consumer Survey; Keypoint Intelligence 2022
Among total survey respondents, the vast majority—over 94%—reported receiving print AND digital versions for at least some of their transactional communications. When those respondents who received multiple versions of the same bills and statements were asked why, 46% stated that they simply liked having both print and digital versions for their records. It is interesting to note that younger respondents were especially likely to feel this way.
Informed Delivery is a Valued Offering
After beginning as a pilot project in 2014, the United States Postal Service’s Informed Delivery promotion was expanded to most ZIP codes in 2017. The service has experienced rapid growth since that time. Informed Delivery enables subscribers to preview their mail via e-mail, an app, or a web dashboard and manage any packages that might soon be delivered. As shown in the Figure below, nearly half of consumers surveyed by Keypoint Intelligence were already subscribers of the service.
Figure 3. USPS Informed Delivery 
N = 1,500 Total Consumer Respondents
Source: Annual State of Transactional Communications Consumer Survey; Keypoint Intelligence 2022
It should also be noted that when the responses to this question were broken down by age, Millennials (consumers between the ages of 26 and 41) were nearly twice as likely to be Informed Delivery subscribers than the oldest respondents to our survey.
The Bottom Line
The ways in which businesses communicate with their customers can make or break relationships, set the tone for future interactions, and even impact a customer's perception of your brand. To pave the way for continued loyalty and growth, enterprises must extend their transactional document delivery options, recognize and honor unique consumer preferences, and connect with customers in a well-established and trusted manner. The digital transformation has taken the world by storm, but printed and mailed communications still have an important place in the overall ecosystem—particularly when it comes to receiving bills and statements.
Eve Padula is a Senior Consulting Editor for Keypoint Intelligence’s Production Services with a focus on Business Development Strategies and Customer Communications. She is responsible for creating many types of documents, including forecasts, industry analyses, and research/multi-client studies. She also manages the editing, formatting, and distribution cycles for many types of deliverables.
Discussion
By Patrick Whelan on Jan 26, 2023
Printers themselves need to do a better job using physical mail to promote these benefits. I've provided print and digital marketing content to the industry for almost 30 years. There has been an increased shift towards printers using more digital content and less print. The pandemic, understandably, accelerated this many times over.
People have returned to the office, digital overload is real and it's time for printers to re-embrace their use of physical mail to engage their audience. The tangible touch of print has never been more welcomed.