Does Direct Mail Still Work? The 2026 Evidence

Budget reviews often ask the same question about print: does direct mail still earn its place? For retailers, the 2026 data gives some useful answers, and one of them is about where the sale happens. The figures below come from JICMAIL, which measures how people interact with mail using a panel of UK households. At the time of writing, its latest quarterly release covers the second quarter of 2026.

How long mail stays in the home

JICMAIL's Q2 2026 results, drawn from its "1,100 strong panel of UK households", give these averages per item:

• Direct mail: 4.4 interactions, a lifespan of 7.4 days and 151 seconds of attention.
• Door drops: 3.1 interactions, 6.0 days and 70 seconds.
• Partially addressed mail: 4.0 interactions, 6.9 days and 100 seconds.

The numbers are lower for door drops, which is what you would expect from unaddressed mail, but a door drop still has an average lifespan of six days and three interactions.

How often mail leads to a purchase

Across all mail in Q2 2026, JICMAIL found that 6% of items prompted a purchase, up from 5% in Q2 2025, and 9.5% prompted a website visit, up from 9.2%. Six in a hundred can sound modest; whether it pays depends on the cost per item and the value of the order it prompts.

Where the sale happens

For retailers, the most useful figure in the Q2 release is this: "The share of mail-driven purchases transacted in-store increased to 41% from 34% a year prior." JICMAIL adds that supermarkets were "again playing a huge role here", and that supermarkets "showed strong confidence in the mail channel", with "both Direct Mail and Door Drop panel volumes growing accordingly".

Ian Gibbs, Director of Data Leadership and Learning at JICMAIL, said supermarkets "are being rewarded with high mail engagement and attention", which "they are effectively converting into both in-store footfall" and "near-record levels of digital traffic".

The channel split moves from quarter to quarter. In JICMAIL's Q1 2026 release, "56% of all purchases driven by mail were fulfilled online in Q1 2026, a new record since tracking began", up from 53% a year earlier. Mail is moving people to buy in both places, so a mailing needs a plan for both.

One caution on Q2: it was not a typical quarter. JICMAIL reports that political party direct mail volumes on its panel rose "by a factor of x6" and door drop volumes "by a factor of x3".

QR codes and digital response

The Q2 release also measured the effect of QR codes. JICMAIL found that a door drop containing a QR code is "87% more likely than the average mail item" to prompt a website visit, and a direct mail item with a QR code "60% more likely". For a retailer, a QR code is also a simple way to see which mailing, area or offer drove a visit.

Response rates and return on spend

The Q1 2026 release introduced JICMAIL's Response Rate Tracker for the full year 2025. It is "based on nearly 5,000 campaigns" and draws on campaign data "submitted by fifteen industry organisations", separate from the household panel.

According to JICMAIL, "the ROI of mail ranges from £2.0 for Partially Addressed Mail, up to £11.50 for Warm Direct Mail", where warm mail means mail sent to existing customers. For retail specifically, the release reports "continued growth in both Warm and Cold Retail Direct Mail response rates (up 26% and 21% year on year respectively)". Mark Cross, Engagement Director at JICMAIL, pointed to "year on year maintenance of £12+ ROI for Retailers from warm mail".

These are industry averages, built from contributed campaign data. They are a useful benchmark for a business case, not a forecast for any single mailing.

What it means for retailers

The evidence says mail still gets attention, still prompts purchases, and sends a large share of those purchases into stores. That last point turns a direct mail campaign into a store campaign as well:

1. Match the store to the mailer. If two in five mail-driven purchases happen in store, the offer on the doormat should be visible on the shop floor, on POS that uses the same creative and the same terms.
2. Brief the stores before the mail lands. Store teams need to know what customers are coming in for, and the stock needs to be there.
3. Choose the format for the job. Addressed direct mail to existing customers is where JICMAIL reports the highest return. Door drops are unaddressed, so they can reach households in an area that are not yet customers.
4. Measure both channels. Use store-level sales, offer codes and QR codes, and compare areas that received the mailing with areas that didn't.
5. Time it against the store calendar. Mail that lands before the POS is up, or after the stock has sold through, wastes both.

Talking to us

If you are weighing up direct mail or door drops alongside in-store activity, we would be glad to talk through what you are trying to achieve.

Sources

1. Quarterly releases, JICMAIL (accessed 27 October 2026)
2. Q2 2026 Results: Political parties and supermarkets provide a boost to mail engagement and effectiveness, JICMAIL (accessed 27 October 2026)
3. Q1 2026 Results: Continued uplift in mail's digital effectiveness plus 2026 Response Rate Tracker, JICMAIL (accessed 27 October 2026)