Postal Service Announces Shipping Prices for 2012

The overall price change for all Shipping Services is 4.6 percent, with Priority Mail prices increasing an average 3.1 percent and Express Mail prices increasing an average 3.3 percent. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) will review the prices before they become effective January 22, 2012, the same day Postal Service Mailing Services prices take effect. Shipping Services price filing will be available on the PRC website [Link] and the new Mailing Services prices for Standard Mail and Periodicals are available on the Postal Explorer and also the PRC website [Link].

Printed Magazines Still Strong

Adults who read magazines on digital platforms represent only 11% of the total gross magazine audience, according to the first wave of GfK MRI data that measures both print and digital magazine readership. From March through October 2011, the total gross magazine audience--defined as the number of consumer exposures to magazine-branded content on any platform, including magazines printed on paper--was approximately 1.6 billion; 11% were exposures only on desktop or laptop computers, Tablets, eReaders or smart phones and did not involve printed content.

Source: GfK MRI

3 in 10 Consumers Lack QR Code Understanding

A high number of US consumers demonstrate a significant lack of understanding as to what QR codes are or how they work, according to an October 2011 survey from strategic marketing firm Russell Herder. Results from “The QR Question” indicate 72% of consumers say they have seen a QR code, but nearly 30% do not know what it is. In addition, nearly one in five consumers who regularly use the internet via mobile phone do not know what a QR code is. Consumers age 18-24 have the highest rate of having seen a QR code (more than 75%), while those age 25-34 and 35-44 both have seen a QR code at a rate almost the same as the overall average. Interestingly, a slightly higher percentage of consumers age 55 and up report having seen a QR code than those 45-54.

Source: Marketing Charts

Professionals Not Replacing Print With Digital

When professionals were asked which media they use regularly in their work, 77% reported regular use of search engines. Print editions of magazines and e-newsletters related to their industry came in second at 74% each. Web sites of professional publishers, associations, or others informing the industry came in at a distant third at 55%. Social media brought up the rear, with 30% indicating regular use. These findings are from Media Usage Studies conducted by Readex Research.

Source: Market Watch

Postal Service Mulls Digital Mailbox Service

You knew it was coming. The Postal Service Inspector General's Office issued a white paper this month presenting the case for an email service called "eMailbox" and a highly secure data storage service known as eLockbox. The white paper called the online services a "natural extension of the Postal Service's role in the physical world," that would help to provide "the critical underpinning" for the development of other digital applications. Bruce Marsh, the manager of the IG office's General Risk Analysis Center, said the proposal was driven by the potential needs of both federal agencies and consumers. "If you look at the shortcomings of the digital world today, a lot of consumers — a lot of customers of the Postal Service — have concerns about privacy, security and, in particular, about identity verification," Marsh said in an interview on the Federal Drive. Listen to the interview here.

Source: Federal News Radio