Epsilon Logo
  • Platform

    • PeopleCloud

    Capabilities

    • Identity resolution
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Intelligent creative
    • Connected marketing

    Products

    • Digital media
    • Data clean room
    • Customer data platform
    • Loyalty platform
    • Consumer marketing data
    • Strategic services
    • Retail media
    • Website personalization
    • All products >
  • By use case

    • Unify & cleanse your first-party data
    • Identify high value customers
    • Connect messages across paid & owned
    • Increase customer loyalty & retention
    • Personalize media across channels
    • Acquire new customers
    • All use cases >

    By channel

    • Display
    • Connected TV
    • Email
    • Audio
    • Online video

    By function

    • Partners
    • Publishers
    • All resources
    • Research & insights
    • Case studies
    • Blog
    • News
    • About us
    • Culture
    • Pressroom
  • Careers
  • AdChoices
  • Platform

    • PeopleCloud
  • Products

    • Digital media
    • Data clean room
    • Customer data platform
    • Loyalty platform
    • Consumer marketing data
    • Strategic services
    • Retail media
    • Website personalization
    • Automotive marketing
    • All products
  • Capabilities

    • Identity resolution
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Intelligent creative
    • Connected marketing
  • Industries

    • Consumer packaged goods
    • Financial services
    • Health
    • Restaurants
    • Retail
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Nonprofits
    • Telecom, media & entertainment
    • All industries
  • Channels

    • Display
    • Connected TV
    • Email
    • Audio
    • Online video
  • Resources

    • All resources
    • Research & insights
    • Case studies
    • Blog
    • News
  • Use cases

    • Unify & cleanse your first-party data
    • Connect messages across paid & owned
    • Identify high value customers
    • Acquire new customers
    • Increase customer loyalty & retention
    • Personalize media across channels
    • All use cases
  • About

    • About us
    • Culture
    • Pressroom
    • Locations
    • Careers
    • Awards & recognition
  • Functions

    • Partners
    • Publishers
  • Learn

    • Customer loyalty strategy
    • Connected TV
    • Programmatic advertising
    • Data clean room
Consumer Info 
Privacy Policy 
Terms & Conditions 
AdChoices 
Your Privacy Choices 
Privacy Settings 
©2026 Epsilon Data Management, LLC. All rights reserved. All names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
  1. Homepage
  2. Resources
  3. Research & insights
  4. Whitepaper: Direct mail as a strategic growth channel
Whitepaper

Whitepaper: Direct mail as a strategic growth channel

A smiling Black woman happily opens mail next to a blue graphic titled "Direct mail as a strategic growth channel" by Epsilon.

Why direct mail deserves a critical role in your marketing mix

Direct mail is a high-impact, precision marketing channel for organizations seeking measurable growth and brand credibility.

In an environment of rising digital costs and attribution challenges, physical mail offers a controllable, testable way to reach high-value customers.

Modern data, automation and attribution tools have transformed direct mail into a performance channel—not a legacy tactic.

For executives focused on ROI, direct mail delivers clarity, incrementality and long-term brand value.

Why direct mail matters in 2026

Direct mail is a highly accountable, data-driven growth channel that gives marketers unmatched control over who they reach, how they engage and what results they generate.

Organizations now dedicate an average of 25% of their marketing budgets to direct mail, and nine in 10 leaders increased investment year over year, signaling confidence in its performance and predictability.

Direct mail is taking on a more strategic role in today’s marketing mix as a high-impact complement to other channels that helps brands create demand, strengthen performance and build longer-lasting relationships. It offers a physical brand moment that supports stronger recall, emotional engagement and credibility.

Recent Epsilon research also points to the channel being a strong driver of customer engagement, with 41% of Gen Z and 45% of millennials stating that they are likely to use catalogs for holiday shopping.

Powered by first-party and permission-based data, direct mail gives marketers precision, measurable outcomes and resilience in a privacy-first landscape. But direct mail doesn’t just deliver on its own—it also lifts the impact of surrounding channels.

By creating durable touchpoints that reinforce digital impressions, it increases engagement and conversion across campaigns. When integrated effectively, it turns fragmented media into a more cohesive, higher-performing system.

Download the full whitepaper to learn more about how to make the most of direct mail.

Topics covered in this whitepaper

  • Direct mail costs versus value
  • How to manage direct mail costs
  • How direct mail delivers measurable growth
About the author
Kenneth Mansfield
Kenneth Mansfield

Kenneth Mansfield is a Senior Director of Product Management at Epsilon.

All articles by Kenneth Mansfield →

In this article

  1. Why direct mail deserves a critical role in your marketing mix
  2. Why direct mail matters in 2026
  3. Topics covered in this whitepaper
Topics:Data

Get insights straight to your inbox.

Sign up for the Epsilon Insider newsletter and receive the latest marketing trends and insights from the industry's top experts.

Privacy Policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time. For more details see our Privacy Policy or update your Preferences.

Insights

Related Posts

A woman looks at her phone against a backdrop of colorful neon lights.
Blog
Data clean room vs. data warehouse: What's the difference and why you need both
Learn more
White paper cover: "Closing the gap between data and customer experience," with two people analyzing data and charts.
White Paper
Closing the gap between data and customer experience: The practical path toward personalization as a growth strategy
Learn more
Cover of Epsilon Pulse's "2026 holiday shopping trends" report, featuring a couple shopping.
Research
2026 holiday shopping trends: The impact of holiday ads, AI use case shifts, the impact of rising costs and more.
Learn more
Explore more insights