(1/2) (Study) 94% of French people consult addressed advertising letters – Data

Advertising mail is indeed appreciated by the French. Almost the majority of them read them, and almost two-thirds do so every week. Discover the relationships between the French and this media they love, through data from the Balmétrie study by Ipsos.

The French are generally attached to their mailbox. As proof: 90% of them check their mail at least three times a week, including 79% daily. For 77% of respondents, picking up the mail is a truly appreciated moment, while for 73% of respondents, it can be access to good deals or promotions.

These figures come from the latest Balmétrie* study, which focuses on the French and their relationship with advertising mail. Thus, almost two thirds of them (60%) read at least one every week, and whatever the frequency, 94% say they read it at all. Three quarters of French people have read at least one advertising letter sent during the eight days preceding the survey, for an average cumulative reading time of 4 minutes 47 minutes.

Among these readers, 31% say they read them attentively, 45% look at them, and 25% skim over them. 42% did not devote themselves to anything else while reading, while 19% confessed to watching television at the same time.

Young people (16-25 years old), for their part, display a slightly different behavior, since they are generally more able to have another activity at the same time as reading their advertising letters: 21% chat with a member of the household (vs. 11% on average), 16% surf the Internet (vs. 10%) and 13% talk on the phone (vs. 5%).

Note also that this significant attention given to advertising mail is even more marked for the insurance, banking and subscription/press sectors.

The power of protean advertising mail

Among the main characteristics perceived by their recipients of advertising letters, we find firstly the fact of attracting attention (69%), providing novelty (68%), detailed information (65%) or yet to benefit from good deals (65%).

Furthermore, on the same basis of readers of advertising letters read in the last eight days, 37% of these documents sent were in letter format, 26% in catalog or magazine format, 25% in brochures and 13% in cards. Certain formats seem to be more adopted than others depending on the origin of the brands: the catalog, the magazine or the brochure for mail order sales and clothing, the card for cosmetics, the letter for insurance, banks and charitable associations .

It is also interesting to note that advertising letters are mainly read at home, led by the living room (47%), that is to say a space where the reader is seated and in the condition to receive the information. 21% are consulted from the kitchen, and 10% in an office. That being said, nuances must be made depending on the nature of the letters. Examples include letters from automobile brands, 10% of which are read outdoors (compared to 5% on average), and those concerning fashion articles, 58% of which are read from the living room.

Finally, the study concludes on the link between reading advertising letters sent and visits to stores (44%) or to brand/retail websites (43%), with an even stronger commitment concerning the automobile, clothing and accessories sectors. and cosmetics-care. Results and figures reminding us of the effectiveness of mail as a drive-to-store marketing tool as well as drive-to-web.

*2023 study by Ipsos for Balmétrie

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