The global pandemic has accelerated the UK’s data decay by an estimated 0.5 per cent per month according to a new study by data specialists, The Software Bureau, Royal Mail, REaD Group and Mortascreen.

This increase means that by the end of the year 37.5 per cent of customer data records held by organisations will be out of date meaning that direct mailers risk sending incorrect mail shots to thousands of UK homes.

The two major contributors to the acceleration are the increased number of homemovers and the rise in the mortality rate.

In July 2020 the Chancellor introduced the Stamp Duty Holiday to reignite the UK economy following Lockdown 1.0. This has resulted in the most buoyant property market since 2008 with a 10 per cent year on year rise in homemovers. Following the stamp duty holiday extension announced in March the rate of homemovers looks set to remain high well into 2021. Tragically, the pandemic has also led to a significant rise in the UK death rate which is currently running 15 per cent higher than average.

With higher numbers of people moving house and a greater number of people passing away it means that more data held by charities is now out-of-date increasing the importance of good data hygiene.

Comments Martin Rides, Managing Director, The Software Bureau:
“As our study shows the pandemic continues to impact every facet of business and life. The fact that the rate of data decay has accelerated means that organisations now need to be more careful than ever when looking to communicate with their customers. This is particularly important as we move out of lockdown when marketing activity is likely to also accelerate.”

The study marks the launch of Clean Contacts, the first in-platform data hygiene solution for customers of Microsoft Dynamics 365