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Royal Mail to deliver postal reminders to online shoppers Royal Mail's online shopping trial sparks fears of junk mail deluge
(about 1 hour later)
Households could be sent marketing material routinely through the post based on their online shopping activity if a trial between Royal Mail and a big retailer takes off.Households could be sent marketing material routinely through the post based on their online shopping activity if a trial between Royal Mail and a big retailer takes off.
Royal Mail said the plan was similar to advertising that already happens online whereby internet shoppers are shown ads based on their recent shopping history.Royal Mail said the plan was similar to advertising that already happens online whereby internet shoppers are shown ads based on their recent shopping history.
The company is working with an unidentified retailer to run a similar system, already in operation, using physical mail. If an online shopper puts an item in their basket but does not complete the purchase this triggers a letter or brochure to the customer’s home encouraging them to buy the product.The company is working with an unidentified retailer to run a similar system, already in operation, using physical mail. If an online shopper puts an item in their basket but does not complete the purchase this triggers a letter or brochure to the customer’s home encouraging them to buy the product.
Royal Mail said it wanted to add traditional mail to the £1bn so-called programmatic media industry, which claims to match customers’ interests more accurately than old-style junk mail. The trial with the retailer, reported in the Daily Mail, only applies to online customers who have agreed to receive marketing material, Royal Mail said.Royal Mail said it wanted to add traditional mail to the £1bn so-called programmatic media industry, which claims to match customers’ interests more accurately than old-style junk mail. The trial with the retailer, reported in the Daily Mail, only applies to online customers who have agreed to receive marketing material, Royal Mail said.
A spokesman for Royal Mail said better targeting would lead to less junk mail because customers would only receive material about items they were interested in buying in the first place. It is easy for customers to opt out and their data is safe, the company added.A spokesman for Royal Mail said better targeting would lead to less junk mail because customers would only receive material about items they were interested in buying in the first place. It is easy for customers to opt out and their data is safe, the company added.
Jonathan Harman, who heads Royal Mail’s MarketReach direct marketing arm, has talked about combining online browsing and direct mail before. In April, he wrote: “Sooner than you think, an online retailer might retarget the owner of an abandoned shopping basket using mail as it does digital display today. Digital print and modern production techniques mean it could be in the post the same day. Sure, it’s a lot more expensive per thousand than online display, but it may also be about 100 times more responsive.”Jonathan Harman, who heads Royal Mail’s MarketReach direct marketing arm, has talked about combining online browsing and direct mail before. In April, he wrote: “Sooner than you think, an online retailer might retarget the owner of an abandoned shopping basket using mail as it does digital display today. Digital print and modern production techniques mean it could be in the post the same day. Sure, it’s a lot more expensive per thousand than online display, but it may also be about 100 times more responsive.”
The data is held by the retailer and Royal Mail does not use its database of postal addresses or match addresses to customers’ online activity, the company said. The retailer tells a mailing house to send the marketing material which Royal Mail is paid to deliver.The data is held by the retailer and Royal Mail does not use its database of postal addresses or match addresses to customers’ online activity, the company said. The retailer tells a mailing house to send the marketing material which Royal Mail is paid to deliver.
A spokesman said: “Royal Mail is carrying out a direct marketing trial with a retailer, based on its contacts with existing customers who have given their permission to be marketed to. We are using an established, targeted direct marketing method – called programmatic – widely used by many retailers and other organisations online, in a more precise and defined way for post. The trial is testing the value to customers and businesses of receiving a targeted mailing shortly after they have shown interest in a product online.” Daniel Nesbitt, of Big Brother Watch, told the Mail: “These plans mean that not only will people be bombarded by targeted adverts, they could also be deluged by letters, often with no knowledge of why or how Royal Mail have got hold of this information.
“Businesses must think very carefully about how they inform their customers about their part in the scheme … People have a right to know where this kind of marketing is coming from and most importantly why they’re getting it.’
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Royal Mail is carrying out a direct marketing trial with a retailer, based on its contacts with existing customers who have given their permission to be marketed to. We are using an established, targeted direct marketing method – called programmatic – widely used by many retailers and other organisations online, in a more precise and defined way for post. The trial is testing the value to customers and businesses of receiving a targeted mailing shortly after they have shown interest in a product online.”
Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 and is under pressure to find new sources of revenue as correspondence moves online and spending on traditional letters falls. It may have less control over what it charges for services under a regulatory review announced last week.Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 and is under pressure to find new sources of revenue as correspondence moves online and spending on traditional letters falls. It may have less control over what it charges for services under a regulatory review announced last week.