The Household Diary Study Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2008

United States Postal Service
John Mazzone – Economist
John Pickett – Manager, Demand Forecasting and Economic Analysis
Finance Department

United States Postal Service Headquarters
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW RM 8600
Washington, D.C. 20260-5323

March 2009, Contract# 102592-02-B-1502

NuStats
206 Wild Basin Road, Suite A-300
Austin, Texas 78746

Table of Contents

E Executive Summary 1

Background 1

Overview 1

Mail Markets 1

1 Chapter 1: Introduction – Volumes & Trends 5

The Survey 5

U.S. Postal Service Volumes 5

Mail Flows 9

Household Mail 9

Classes and Markets 10

Report Organization 10

2 Chapter 2: Profile of Mail Usage 13

Introduction 13

Mail Volume and Demographics 13

Characteristics of Higher- and Lower-Volume Households 14

Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Households 15

Use of the Post Office 18

3 Chapter 3: Correspondence 21

Introduction 21

Correspondence Mail Volume 21

Correspondence Mail and Household Characteristics 21

Personal Correspondence 24

Business Correspondence 27

4 Chapter 4: Transactions 29

Introduction 29

Transactions Mail Volume 29

Transactions Mail and Household Characteristics 30

Bill Payment 32

Bills and Statements Received 36

5 Chapter 5: Advertising Mail 39

Introduction 39

The Advertising Market 39

Advertising Mail Volumes 40

Advertising Mail and Household Characteristics 42

Senders of Advertising Mail 44

Attitudes Toward Advertising 44

Effectiveness of Advertising Mail 47

6 Chapter 6: Periodicals 49

Introduction 49

The Periodical Market 49

Advertising’s Impact on Periodicals 50

Household Periodicals Volume 50

Periodicals Mail and Household Characteristics 52

Subscription Type 53

Volume Drivers 55

7 Chapter 7: Packages 57

Introduction 57

The Package Market 57

Postal Service Package Volume 59

Packages and Household Characteristics 60

Household Package Contents 63

A Appendix A: Comparative Tables 1987, 2007, and 2008

Concordance

A1. Total Mail Overview

A2. First-Class Mail

A3. Standard Mail (A)

A4. Direct Mail Advertising

A5. Periodicals

A6. Packages & Expedited (This section has been redacted)

A7. Electronic Communications

A8. Annual Trends

B Appendix B: Methodology

Study Design and Methodology

Sample Design

Data Collection Method

Data Processing

Sample Demographic Profile (all counts unweighted), Government Fiscal Year 2008

Data Weighting and Expansion

Weighting Procedures – FY 2008 Diary Data

Adjustment Factors

C Appendix C: Survey Instruments

C1. Recruitment Questionnaire

C2. Diary Package

Advance Letter

Diary Package Cover Letter

Instruction Booklet

Photo Quick Start

Question Booklet

Answer Booklet

Daily Envelope

Gift Selection Form

"I'm Done. . . ." Card

List of Tables and Figures

E Executive Summary 1

Table E.1: Mail Received and Sent by Households 1

Table E.2: Household Mail Volume Received and Sent by Market Served 2

Table E.3: Advertising by Mail Class 2

Table E.4: Periodical Type Received 2

Table E.5: Packages Received and Sent via the U.S. Postal Service 3

1 Chapter 1: Introduction – Volumes & Trends 5

Table 1.1: Total Mail Volume: FY 1987, 2006, 2007, and 2008 6

Table 1.2: Total Mail: Revenue, Pieces, and Weight by Shape, FY 2008 7

Table 1.3: Total Mail: Revenue and Weight per Piece by Shape, FY 2008 8

Table 1.4a: Total Domestic Mail Flows 9

Table 1.4b: Domestic Mail Flows per Household per Week 9

Table 1.5: Mail Received and Sent by Households 9

Table 1.6: Pieces Received and Sent per Household 9

Table 1.7: Mail Received and Sent by Households 10

2 Chapter 2: Profile of Mail Usage 13

Table 2.1: Mail Volume and Demographics Average Annual Growth 1981-2008 13

Table 2.2: Characteristics of Higher- and Lower-Mail-Volume Households 15

Table 2.3: Education of Higher- and Lower-Mail-Volume Households 15

Table 2.4: Households by Income and Education 16

Table 2.5: Households by Income and Age 16

Table 2.6: Households by Size 16

Table 2.7: Households by Number of Adults 17

Table 2.8: Households by Type of Internet Access 17

Figure 2.1: PC Ownership and Internet Access 17

Figure 2.2: Broadband Subscribers 18

Figure 2.3: Household Use of Rented Mailboxes 18

Figure 2.4: Household Visits to Post Office in Past Month 19

3 Chapter 3: Correspondence 21

Table 3.1: First-Class Correspondence Mail Sent and Received by Sector 21

Table 3.2: Correspondence Mail Received by Income and Education 22

Table 3.3: Correspondence Mail Sent by Income and Education 22

Table 3.4: Correspondence Mail Received by Income and Age 22

Table 3.5: Correspondence Mail Sent by Income and Age 23

Table 3.6: Correspondence Mail Received and Sent by Household Size 23

Table 3.7: Correspondence Mail Received and Sent by Number of Adults in Household 23

Table 3.8: Correspondence Mail Received and Sent by Type of Internet Access 23

Table 3.9: Income and Education by Type of Internet Access 23

Table 3.10: Personal Correspondence Sent and Received 24

Figure 3.1: Personal Correspondence Sent by Income Group 25

Figure 3.2: Personal Correspondence Sent by Age Cohort 25

Figure 3.3: Holiday Greetings Received by Age and Income, FY 2006, 2007 and 2008 26

Table 3.11: Personal Correspondence by Type of Internet Access 26

Figure 3.4: Daily Personal E-mails Sent and Received 27

Table 3.12: Business Correspondence Type (Sent and Received) by Sector (Millions of Pieces) 27

4 Chapter 4: Transactions 29

Table 4.1: Transactions Mail Sent and Received 29

Table 4.2: Transactions Mail Received by Income and Education 30

Table 4.3: Transactions Mail Sent by Income and Education 31

Table 4.4: Transactions Mail Received by Income and Age 31

Table 4.5: Transactions Mail Sent by Income and Age 31

Table 4.6: Transactions Mail Received and Sent by Household Size 31

Table 4.7: Transactions Mail Received and Sent by Number of Adults in Household 32

Table 4.8: Transactions Mail Received and Sent by Internet Access 32

Table 4.9: Income and Education by Type of Internet Access 32

Table 4.10: Bill Payment by Method, FY 2006, 2007, and 2008 33

Figure 4.1: Monthly Average Household Bill Payment by Method 33

Figure 4.2: Average Monthly Automatic Deductions per Household 34

Table 4.11: Types of Bills Paid by Mail 34

Figure 4.3: Average Bills Paid per Month by Income and Age 35

Figure 4.4: Bill Payment Method by Age 35

Table 4.12: Bill and Statement Volumes by Industry 36

Figure 4.5: Statements Received by Mail by Income 37

Table 4.13: Average Monthly Bills and Statements Received by Method 37

5 Chapter 5: Advertising Mail 39

Table 5.1: U.S. Advertising Spending by Medium, 2006-2008 39

Figure 5.1: Direct Mail as a Share of Total Advertising, 1990-2008 39

Table 5.2: Advertising Mail by Mail Classification 41

Table 5.3: Advertising Mail by Mail Classification 41

Table 5.4: Advertising Mail Received by Income and Education 42

Table 5.5: Advertising Mail Received by Income and Age 43

Table 5.6: Advertising Mail Received by Size of Household 43

Table 5.7: Advertising Mail Received by Number of Adults 43

Table 5.8: Advertising Mail Received by Internet Access 44

Table 5.9: Income and Education by Type of Internet Access 44

Figure 5.2: Advertising Volumes for First-Class and Standard Mail Advertising by Sender Type 44

Figure 5.3: Advertising Mail Behavioral Trends – 1987, 2006, 2007 and 2008 45

Figure 5.4: Treatment of Standard Mail by Type 46

Figure 5.5: Treatment of Standard Advertising Mail by Number of Standard Mail Pieces Received per Week 46

Table 5.10: Intended Response to Advertising Mail by Class 47

Figure 5.6: Weekly Number of Responses by Income 47

6 Chapter 6: Periodicals 49

Figure 6.1: Periodicals Mail Volume per Person – 1971 to 2008 49

Figure 6.2: Real Per-Capita Consumer Magazine Advertising Spending 50

Table 6.1: Periodical Type by Year 51

Figure 6.3: Newspaper Circulation – 1970 to 2008 51

Figure 6.4: Daily Newspaper Readership – 1987 to 2008 52

Table 6.2: Periodicals by Income and Education 52

Table 6.3: Periodicals by Income and Age 53

Table 6.4: Periodicals by Size of Household 53

Table 6.5: Periodicals by Number of Adults in Household 53

Table 6.6: Periodicals by Type of Internet Access 53

Figure 6.5: Subscription Type by Year 54

Table 6.7: Periodicals by Sender Type 54

Figure 6.6: Number of Periodicals Received per Week by Households by Income Group 55

7 Chapter 7: Packages 57

Table 7.1: Total Package Market Volume Growth 58

Figure 7.1: Package Delivery Market Segment Share 58

Table 7.6: Postal Service Sent and Received Packages, FY 2006, 2007, and FY 2008 59

Figure 7.2: Postal Service Sent and Received Packages by Household Income 60

Table 7.7: Postal Service Received Packages by Income and Age 60

Table 7.8: Postal Service Sent Packages by Income and Age 60

Table 7.9: Postal Service Received Packages by Income and Education 61

Table 7.10: Postal Service Sent Packages by Income and Education 61

Table 7.11: Postal Service Received and Sent Packages by Size of Household 62

Table 7.12: Postal Service Received and Sent Packages by Number of Adults in Household 62

Table 7.13: Received and Sent Packages by Household Internet Access 62

Table 7.14: Contents of Postal Service Sent and Received Packages 63

Executive Summary

This report documents the findings of the United States Postal Service’s Household Diary Study (HDS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. The three main study purposes are to:

· Measure the mail sent and received by U.S. households,

· Provide a means to track household mail trends over time, and

· Make comparisons of mail use between different types of households.

The report examines these trends in the context of changes and developments in the wider markets for communications and package delivery.

Background

The Household Diary Study survey, fielded continuously since 1987, aims to collect information on household use of the mail and how that use changes over time. The survey collects household information on demographics, lifestyle, attitudes toward mail and advertising, bill payment behavior, and use of the Internet and other information technologies.

The FY 2008 report covers Government Fiscal Year 2008, with comparisons to 2006 and 2007.

The HDS collects information on household mail use and provides a look at how that use changes over time.

Overview

In 2008, U.S. households received 148.6 billion pieces of mail, and sent 21.3 billion, as seen in Table E.1. Mail sent or received by households constituted 81 percent of total domestic mail in FY 2008. Fifty-six percent of the mail households received was sent Standard Mail. Only four percent of household mail (and about three percent of total mail) was sent between households; the rest was sent between households and non-households.

Table E.1: Mail Received and Sent by Households (Billions of Pieces)

Mail Classification	Received	Sent
First-Class Mail	57.2	20.8
Standard Regular Mail	69.4	—
Standard Nonprofit Mail	13.6	—