The average door drop is seen by 1.05 people in the home and interacted with almost three times per item, according to research by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA).

Insights from the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMAIL) show that there has been a reduction in the number of items households are receiving, but the reach and frequency of interaction is still strong. 

For every 100 items sent, 105 people are reached, and the number of times a door drop item is interacted with is 2.80. Around two-thirds of people (65%) read or look at a door drop straight away when they receive it, and the average lifespan of a door drop is 5.6 days.

Head of Insight for the DMA, Tim Bond, said door drops offer an effective, tactile and scalable channel for marketing. 

“Continued improvements in the use of data, planning and strategy across the data and marketing industry ultimately improve efficiency for the door drops medium,” said Bond. “All enabling brands to send data-driven, intelligent door drop campaigns that resonate with their audiences and align with their values.”

Due to circumstances , such as Brexit and the General Election, the annual volume of door drops reduced from 5.4 billion to 4.8 billion in 2019. According to the Advertising Association, the expected overall decline in 2020 may be as high as 19%.

The DMA said the decrease from 3.8 door drops weekly per household in 2018, to 3.3 in 2019, can be explained by better quality data and targeting strategy.