Americans spend twice as much time reviewing printed bank and credit card statements than viewing the same information online, according to a study Pitney Bowes Co. released Wednesday.
Rob Pipe, vice president of marketing and strategy for the printing equipment and technology company’s Group 1 Software Inc., said in a press release that the findings suggest banks could get a better return on their marketing investment from advertising on printed statements than online.
The study also found that consumers pay more attention to direct mail than to “cold” direct prospecting e-mails.
“Banks, credit card issuers, mobile telecom companies, and utilities should weigh the benefits of migrating customers to Web self-service compared to the additional income that can be generated through advertising on printed bills and statements,” Mr. Pipe said.
Americans pay the most attention to their bank, credit card, and mobile phone statements, the study found.
On average, residents of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain spend four minutes looking at a document received by mail, versus 3.5 minutes spent by U.S. consumers.
The survey of 1,000 adults, conducted in May and June, found that companies using direct mail, on average, have just under three minutes to get their message across. E-mail to existing customers receives as much attention as the typical direct mail piece, while “cold” e-mails only have 50 to 90 seconds to grab the recipient’s attention.
