Thursday, November 10, 2011

Almost 20% of E-mail Never Reaches Inboxes

Only 81% of permissioned commercial e-mail worldwide is reaching inboxes, according to a new benchmark report by Return Path. Spam folders claim 7%, and 12% simply go missing. Return Path notes that e-mail marketers need to focus on inbox placement rather than bounce rates, and not assume that e-mail that doesn't bounce is reaching its destination. For details, see http://www.returnpath.net/blog/intheknow/2011/09/email-deliverability-still-plagues-commercial-email-senders-worldwide-only-81-of-email-reaches-the-inbox/

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

USPS to Hike Average Rates 2.1% in January

The U.S. Postal Service has announced an average 2.1% hike in postal rates for 2012, effective Jan. 22. The increase is the maximum allowed based on the current rate of inflation. As far as industry impact, catalog mailers are already weighing in with forecasts of lower mail volume and increased use of non-mail channels. See http://multichannelmerchant.com/catalog/average-postal-rate-increase-2012-1020jt1/