With all the changes that have taken place within the mailing industry over the past few decades, people may be wondering what might come next. Before we start talking about the future of mail, though, it’s important to assess the recent past and present of mailing. This article provides a brief overview of current trends within the mailing industry and considers what the future might hold.

Consumers Still Like Mail

When Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends began tracking transactional communications in the late 1990s, all of the market signals indicated that printed communication would decline in favor of the emerging digital communication opportunities. Despite this, the transition from printed messaging to paperless delivery has consistently fallen short of projections. Adoption rates for pure digital communication—via email or mobile application—vary by industry, audience, and geography. The digital evolution has been slowly marching forward by a few percentage points each year in some markets, but others have been stalled for years. Our annual research tells us that even in today’s digital age, many consumers still enjoy receiving paper-based communications. This is true regardless of age or technology adopter type. In fact, over half of consumers who consider themselves early adopters of technology report that they still like to receive paper mail.