News

In less than two weeks, Postage rates will increase. Here is the latest news released about that changes

On July 10th, postage rates will increase. The last postage rate increase was August 2021. This was expected as part of the Delivery for America plan. As the postmaster General stated, increased rates are needed to ensure the USPS reaches its goals. For the public, the impact will be an increase in the forever stamp.

For mailers, the increase proposed averages are 6.5% for First-Class and Marketing Mail letters and 8.5% for Marketing Mail flats. While similar to the price increase from August, this increase has a different primary driver. In 2021, the increase was driven by the COVID decline in mail density (fewer mail pieces per delivery), while the logic behind this year’s increase is due to the current rise in inflation.

Many mailers will be looking to offset these costs. Even with the understanding that this would occur, such options as special USPS promotions, expanded address hygiene methods, and enhanced segmentation. Here is an excellent article from PI world with a deeper dive into ways mailers can alleviate this issue.

As the postal industry and the companies that work with mail try to adapt

GrayHair had three objectives this year for the postal industry’s largest trade event. The first was to see many of our clients and friends after a two-year drought. The goal was achieved as our team spent time with many of our clients and their vendors (You can check out the classic tradeshow pics on our FB page).

Our next was to showcase that GrayHair not only persevered through the pandemic but prospered. In 2021, we started showcasing our Business-Ready Intelligence (BRI) Solutions and it felt great to introduce how postal data is the newfound hero beyond the mailstream.

Then, we always love to showcase our industry-leading experts’ workshops. They deeply dive into topics such as Informed Visibility (IV), address data quality, the evolution of postal data in the cloud, and how to deliver outstanding customer support to clients.

We may not have had our puppies, but with our focus on postal data as the hero, our “Hero Within” t-shirts were a hit. If you couldn’t attend this year’s NPF and get one, do not hesitate to reach out, and we will be glad to send one to you (while supplies last).

​​​​​​​​​See you next year in Charlotte!!! See you