July 2023 USPS Postage Rate Changes for Marketing Mail

Marketers are about to see USPS postage rate changes on July 9, 2023. The rates most relevant to direct mailers are outlined below. 

In this blog, we look at the forces driving this latest rate adjustment and offer insight into what steps marketers can take to make the most of their direct mail investment.

USPS postage rate change plan holding sway

The Postal Service is showing no signs of deviating from the previously announced twice-a-year rate adjustments outlined in their 10-year plan, “Delivering for America.”

Once again, the main rationalization for this latest increase has been laid at the feet of inflation which, while slowing, remains stubbornly above the Fed’s general target of 2% .

Here are the new rate increases most directly tied to direct mailers.

Marketing Mail USPS rate increases – July 2023

For an overview of all the major postage rate increases for marketing mail in July of 2023, access our latest postage rate sheet.

Are you underutilizing ROI-enhancing tactics?

Marketing budgets remain under incredible amounts of internal and external pressure, and the need to justify spending is more critical than ever. In this environment, direct mailers need to use every available tactic to proactively control costs, especially around postage, as it is usually the lion’s share of a mail program’s budget. This critical activity:

• saves budget dollars, and
• has an enhancing effect on ROI.

Annual USPS postage promotions

36% of direct mailers leverage no USPS promotions for postage savings.¹ Ask yourself, why are you in the minority, leaving money on the table? Research shows that the main reason mailers don’t leverage these discounts is lack of provider support. As SG360°, we:

• educate you.
• help you apply and qualify.
• execute campaigns that maximize your performance while satisfying USPS requirements, for a net increase in return on your marketing spend.

Automation discounts

27% of mailers do not utilize USPS automation discounts.¹ These discounts are based on size/addressing/presorting standards designed to make the USPS’s job easier. The top reason given by these mailers is their package exceeds/fails to meet the USPS standards to qualify. SG360° has helped brands overcome this challenge by:

• reviewing their existing formats.
• suggesting effective alternate designs that meet all requirements.
• delivering significant savings by converting parcel-rate packages to flat mail pieces, saving in excess of $2 per piece in postage.

Commingling

Commingling reduces postage on the mail pieces within a campaign that don’t qualify for volume-based discounts. Your commingling provider can run your address data to assess which mail pieces qualify. Yet, 45% of direct mailers fail to employ commingling because they believe it costs too much to be worthwhile.¹ But, a competitively run in-house commingle program, such as the one SG360° executes daily, can deliver net savings, per piece, in the .04-.05 cents range after program costs have been factored in. In addition, at SG360°, direct mailers:

• retain visibility into every mail piece in the program through every step.
• meet critical in-home deliver dates.

Make the most of your direct mail investment

Our just-released market research report, using data gathered in March of 2023, identifies several areas that the data suggests are begging for mailers to address to get the most out of their direct mail investment, including:

• Multiple underutilized postage saving tactics
• Specific insights about what each generation finds attractive about marketing mail
• The relationship between data practices and program performance
• Insights into why new mailers appear to be outperforming veterans – and how veterans can catch up

Included are concrete recommendations on the best ways to leverage these opportunities.

To gain these free optimization insights, download “The Future of Direct Mail 2023” today, and finish 2023 on an upward trajectory.

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1. (2023) The Future of Direct Mail 2023, SG360°