How People Prefer To Get Information, December 2012 [CHART]

Chart - How People Prefer To Get Information

Surprise! Americans would generally rather receive marketing information from brands via postal mail than over the internet or by email, per survey results from Epsilon. (Actually, that’s not a big surprise: Epsilon found the same thing last year.) That general preference for postal mail extends even to smart device owners, although they are more likely than those who don’t own such devices to prefer receiving information online or over email.

Looking first at the general sample, the survey finds that across 18 different categories, postal mail is preferred in 15. The biggest gap is for sensitive health information: 42% would want to receive such information via postal mail, compared to 11% over the internet and 8% via email. Privacy concerns no doubt play a role. Similar gaps emerge for information from financial services, mail order shopping, insurance (more on email marketing for insurance here), and food products, although the gaps are narrower. The only 3 categories where postal mail is not favored are: hobbies or interest (26% choosing the internet, 24% postal mail); travel (32% choosing the internet; 22% mail); and online sites to shop at (32% the internet; 19% email; and 12% direct mail). Read the rest at MarketingCharts.