Just 6 months after the January postage increase, the Postal Service will be implementing new postal rates on July 9, 2023. The new rates are a part of the Postal Service’s 10-year plan to achieve financial sustainability and service excellence. A notable increase includes a $0.03 increase on a First Class Mail Forever stamp, bringing the cost up from $0.63 to $0.66 per stamp.

Other updated rates include:

• First-Class Auto Rates have an average increase of 5.77% or $0.029 each
• First-Class Postcards increase 1.44% or $0.005 each
• Marketing Mail Letter rates have an average increase of 7.56% or $0.023 each
• Marketing Mail Auto rates increased 5.88% or $.018 each while Carrier Route Rates have a higher increase of 8.67% or over $.027 each

Download J&Q’s FREE easy to read Postal Rate Brochure for all updated 2023 pricing.

Though no other future postal increases have been announced yet, this certainly will not be the last. The Postal Regulatory Commission expects that the Postal Service will implement price changes twice a year as operating expenses continue to rise. However, that doesn’t mean direct mail is going anywhere. Despite the increases, response rates show direct mail to remain one of the highest ROI of all marketing channels. So what can you do to offset these costs?

Take Advantage of The Current Postal Optimization Opportunities

Here are the remaining USPS Promotions for 2023:

• Emerging and Advanced Technology and Mobile Shopping is available until November 30^th
• New Retargeting Mail is available until November 30^th
• New Reply Mail IMbA is available through the end of the year
• Informed Delivery becomes available August 1^st and will run through the end of the year.

One new change in the rate structure for the July 2023 rate case is that the USPS is adding a discount for Marketing Mail letters on a destination SCF pallet. This new discount encourages mailers to create cross-dockable SCF pallets that require no additional USPS sorting until they arrive at the facility that will perform the final delivery-point sortation. These discounts will be 3 tenths of a cent per piece for automation letters and 2 tenths of a cent per piece for saturation/high-density letters. Since more than 96% to 98% of the MM letters produced at Johnson & Quin are drop-shipped directly to the destination SCF, we will be taking full advantage of this new discount for our clients.

Johnson & Quin is always ready to assist clients in finding the most efficient and cost-effective way to mail. For more information regarding postage rates, USPS promotions or how to best optimize your mail programs, contact us at 847.588.4800 or jqinfo@j-quin.com.