Quadient announced the results of a research study about how consumers value diverse types of communication. Quadient commissioned independent market research agency Opinium to conduct the study, surveying 6,000 consumers in the UK, France and the US from August through September 2024. While the research showed physical mail remains important, 73% of US respondents want companies to communicate with them over more than one channel (email, physical mail, text, mobile apps or social media). Despite living in an increasingly digital world, traditional physical communications remain very much alive, according to the research.
Of US survey respondents, 63% are more likely to act on an urgent physical communication than any form of digital communication and 78% sent physical mail in the previous year.
The research showed 68% of US respondents worry about missing important digital communications. Additionally, in the US, 65% of respondents previously preferred digital communications, but spam, scams and the volume of digital messages have prompted them to prefer physical letters. This is higher than in France (62%) and the UK (52%).
The research also touched upon consumers’ attitudes about the future of communications. More than 80% of US respondents want organizations to disclose the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creation of communications, while 58% believe AI results in lower-quality communication. In the US, 40% would feel upset if AI was used to communicate medical test results.
US respondents were particularly concerned about how much data a company has about them with 64% expressing worry, compared to 59% in France and 55% in the UK. Consumers in the US (63%) would accept companies getting some information wrong rather than share too much personal data compared to 57% in France and 51% in the UK.
“The research shows that consumers maintain an ongoing trust in physical communications, especially for those that really matter,” said Alain Fairise, chief solutions officer, Mail, Quadient. “Because we live in an interconnected world where people want to receive the right message, at the right time, over the right channel, consumers like the immediacy of email or the convenience of texting and in-app messages. Businesses that want to meet the needs of their customers must continue their digital transformation, but, crucially, they should take into consideration customer preferences for communication.”
The survey also touched on consumers’ perceptions on communications and the environment. The research found that 52% of respondents want more guidance on which communication channels they should select to reduce their environmental impact, with 44% concerned that they are not aware of hidden environmental impacts of digital communications.
