10 Statistics That Show Digital & Direct Mail Tech Combined Increase Results

You don’t have to choose between high-tech digital marketing and traditional methods like print advertising. You can combine direct mail and digital technology to create a powerful force that increases lead generation and revenue.

Statistics show that digital integration with your direct mail campaign supercharges your results. So keep reading to discover the research on how digital tech and direct mail make a powerful combination.

For the past couple of decades, there has been an increased focus on social media and digital advertising. You really can’t run a business without it these days. However, direct mail is certainly making waves with digital at its side.

A number of years ago, I decided to update our direct mail campaigns by including follow-up digital advertisements — we call it Everywhere Small Business.

Right after prospects receive a mailer, they start to see digital ads that look similar to the postcard in their social media feeds, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google search pages. It works because the digital ads direct prospects back to the company’s website and encourage them to call or make a purchase. They also increase brand awareness.

But these follow-up digital ads aren’t the only new tech strategies increasing return on investment. Automation is also a fantastic way of generating new leads. Direct mail automation essentially allows a business to mail advertisements, like letters, postcards, and catalogs automatically.

These mailings can also happen based on certain triggers like when a person visits a website, abandons an online shopping cart, fills out a form, and more. The unique relationship between online and offline activity boosts results.

We even have a product called Website to Mailbox that has been very effective at bringing back interested prospects to purchase a product or service. After a person visits a website, they receive a mailer within 24 hours.

Automation technology can also connect to Customer Relationship Management software so that any new action triggers a mailing, such as when you add a new client, make an appointment, or schedule a service.

Beyond automation, technology makes it easy for you to personalize direct mail pieces. You can add a person’s name, their birthdate, a photo of their current home based on Google Maps information, and more!

All of these high-tech strategies grab the attention of prospects and signal to your audience that you are attentive to their needs.

But you don’t have to believe me on faith! Take a look at all of these statistics we’ve compiled that show how much better it is to combine your digital marketing strategy with your direct mail campaigns.

Marketing campaigns are more effective when digital and print advertisements are combined.

• 97% of marketers say integrating direct mail with digital efforts (e.g. email, SMS, and display ads) has a positive impact on performance. This is a 7% jump from 2024 results. Direct Mail Marketing Benchmark Report (2025)
• When you combine print and digital, you can lift overall response by 20–30% on average. ANA Response Rate Report (2024)
• Campaigns integrating online ads with direct mail generated an average 447.8% boost in sales compared to online-only campaigns. In fact, offline-first campaigns saw a higher boost (491%) compared to online-first (404.6%), with both exceeding sales from online-only campaigns by $10,800 and $8,900 respectively. Journal of Advertising Research (2024)
• 60% of consumers say they are extremely/very likely to respond to an advertising promotion when they see it across multiple channels. The Direct Marketing Revolution Report (2023)
• On average, companies experienced a 15% increase in sales when they combined direct mail with their digital strategies. Harvard Business Review (2022)

Personalized and automated direct mail generates an even greater response.

• In 2025, 57% of marketers are mailing to winback/remarketing audiences each month, up from 38% in 2024. Direct Mail Marketing Benchmark Report (2025)
• Marketers who report the highest direct mail ROI are 32% more likely to partner with automation platform to send mail. The State of Direct Mail (2025)
• Marketers who report the highest direct mail ROI are 150+% more likely to leverage high-quality data, allowing them to personalize mailers based on consumer behavior and preferences. The State of Direct Mail (2025)
• 67% of consumers say a personalized detail on a mail piece led them to take action. Of those who responded, they cited these elements as the reason:
  • about a product/service I’m interested in: 65%
  • addressed by name: 32%
  • interests or past behavior: 31%
  • neighborhood or local details: 20% State of Direct Mail: Consumer Insights (2025)
    
• 84% of people in a study said they were more likely to open/pay attention to a direct mail piece if it was personalized. InfoTrends (2015)
  

If you liked reading this entry, check out this larger article that includes 338 direct mail statistics about many more topics!