Eclipsed by E-mail, Direct Mail to Tumble 39% by 2013

Direct mail is being negatively affected by online efforts, specifically email, and is expected to decline 39% in the next five years - from $49.7 billion in annual spend in 2008 to $29.8 billion by then end of 2013, according to a report from Borrell Associates, writes MarketingVOX.

Local e-mail is expected to account for a significant portion of e-mail growth overall. Borrell Associates forecasts that local e-mail advertising will grow from $848 million in 2008, to $2 billion in 2013, as more small businesses abandon direct-mail couponing and promotions and turn to the measurable and less costly online medium.

Online coupons are credited, in part,  with expediting direct mail’s demise. A report by PriceGrabber noted 53% of online Americans say the recession compels them to spend more time on the internet, where they research purchases to suppress impulse buying and shopping for deals that do not include shipping fees or sales tax.