New USPS Incentives Help Mail Marketing Industry Lower Mailing Costs

Great news for marketers and direct mailers!

On September 27, 2023, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) approved the Postal Service request to make Mail Classification Schedule (MCS) changes to establish two distinct Mail growth incentives — a First Class Mail Growth Incentive and a Marketing Mail Growth Incentive.

The incentives will run concurrently from Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2024 and the Postal Service will issue a 30% postage credit based on the incremental volume in CY 2024 subject to a minimum mailing volume of one million qualifying pieces for the entire incentive period. Postage credits will be issued to qualified Mail Owners after six, nine and twelve months from the start of CY 2024.

Helping Improve Mailer Return-on-Investment (ROI)

The purpose behind these initiatives is to drive Mail Owners to increase the volume of First-Class and Marketing mail they send in CY2024 while providing them with lower overall postage costs on incremental growth. The end result is to allow mail owners to maximize their total return on investment by providing additional cost-savings and strengthening the value of mail. Mail Owners, defined as a business entities, organizations, or individuals who make business decisions regarding the mail piece content, directly benefit from the mailing, and ultimately pay for postage on the mail piece directly or by way of a mailing agent, can participate in either or both Mail Growth Incentives. However, the incentives cannot be combined for the purposes of reaching the million-piece.

Mail Owners With Less Than A Million Pieces Welcome to Participate

The registration period for both incentives will run from November 2023–June 2024 and occur through the Mailing Promotions Portal, which will be made available through the Business Customer Gateway. As part of registration, USPS will provide the Mail Owner with their corresponding baseline volume. The Mail Owner must record their agreement with this baseline volume, and meet these three other conditions to participate in the incentive plan:

1. The Mail Owner must mail at least one million mail pieces in CY 2024 in the mail class relevant to the incentive (First-Class Mail or Marketing Mail).
2. The Mail Owner’s CY 2024 volume must exceed their volume in FY 2023.
3. The mailer must meet registration requirements for these incentives, which include accepting a baseline volume for each incentive determined by the Postal Service.

Mail Owners with volume mailed of less than a million pieces in FY 2023 can participate. They must grow their volume to at least that baseline before postage credits would begin to accrue.

Most Marketing Products Eligible

Registration for each mail class will occur separately, and the corresponding postage credits will be calculated separately. Any Mail Owner who expects to grow volume and have at least one million pieces in CY 2024 will be eligible for the postage credits if they register for these incentives. Qualifying Market Dominant products eligible for the incentive are: First-Class Mail Presort Letters, First-Class Mail Presort Cards, First-Class Mail Presort Flats, USPS Marketing Mail Letters and High Density/Saturation Letters, USPS Marketing Mail Flats and High Density/Saturation Flats, USPS Marketing Mail Carrier Route Letters and Flats, and USPS Marketing Mail and Saturation Parcels. The Marketing Mail Growth Incentive will apply to EDDM Commercial mail, but not to EDDM Retail mail.

This effort supports the Postal Service’s 10-Year Delivering for America plan to achieve financial stability and service excellence, through bold approaches — working with businesses who rely on the postal system to grow volume and revenue.