DM campaign costs to increase in July

The MA met with Matt Geor, GM Mail for NZ Post, recently to discuss the inevitable increase in mailing costs. Here is some background and a précised version of our meeting:

Just over 2 years ago the government committed to providing $130 million over three years to NZ Post to subsidise projected financial losses from mail. This allowed them to continue to provide nationwide coverage for mail delivery at current service levels and with minimal price increases. The government subsidy ends this year.

As we all know, mail volumes have continued to decline. Direct marketing has changed dramatically, with online communications increasingly taking the place of letters. Twenty years ago, over 1 billion mail items were delivered annually, now it’s down to about 250 million items and this is continuing to drop. This is not unique to New Zealand; mail decline is happening across the world as more people communicate online.

As a result, NZ Post’s mail service remains commercially challenging and they are forced to move towards more commercially sustainable prices for mail. The outcome for mail users is that NZ Post be increasing the price of sending letters substantially from this July and in the few years following.

Here’s an extract from NZ Post’s official announcement

Bulk Mail

The following changes are in response to both customer feedback and to enable NZ Post to operate a financially sustainable postal service for New Zealand:

1. Price increases will be applied to all Bulk Mail services. The increases will vary across the rate cards, with most customers expected to receive an average increase of 25-30%.

2. New minimum sizes will apply as follows:
i. Volume Mail Medium – 88mm x 138mm x 0.3mm
ii. Volume Mail Large – 130mm x 185mm x 0.3mm
iii. Flex Mail Large – 130mm x 185mm x 1.0mm
iv. Flex Mail Oversize – 165mm x 220mm x 1.0mm
v. Ad Card Medium - 88mm x 138mm x 0.3mm
vi. Ad Card Large - 130mm x 185mm x 0.3mm
vii. Publication Mail (all sizes)– 165mm x 240mm x 1.0mm

The revised Product Specifications in the Postal Users’ Guide and Domestic Bulk Mail Envelope Layout Standards will be available on the NZ Post website from 1 July 2022.

For more information on the products, envelope layout standards, price changes, postcode zones and Zonal Pricing, please refer to the specific product information in the ‘Postal Users Guide’ or visit https://www.nzpost.co.nz/about-us/july2022 If you use the services of a mailhouse, they should be able to assist.