For brands facing rising digital acquisition costs and increasing competition for attention, the USPS’s 2026 postal promotions offer an advantage. These incentives don’t just reduce mailing expenses, they make it easier for marketers to innovate, test new ideas, and expand their multichannel strategies with confidence. Whether you’ve been using direct mail for years or are exploring it for the first time, these promotions present an opportunity to modernize your approach while improving performance and efficiency.
The USPS promotions introduce several ways to lower the cost of sending mail while encouraging the use of emerging technologies, sensory enhancements, and consistent communication. Most promotions offer a 5% postage discount, while catalog mailers can save up to 10%. Two additional incentives, Informed Delivery and Sustainability enhancements, can be layered on for an extra 1% each, bringing postage savings to as much as 12%.
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A quick breakdown of the 2026 USPS promotions
These USPS incentives are designed to encourage smarter, more digitally integrated use of the mail channel.
Here’s what marketers need to know:
5% discounts across core promotions
These apply broadly and reward modern, tech-enabled mail strategies:
- Integrated Technology Promotion: AI, QR codes, Augmented Reality (AR), personalized URLs
- Tactile Sensory Promotion: Textures, interactive formats, unique materials
- Continuous Contact Promotion: Ongoing sequences or multi-touch campaigns
- First-Class Advertising Promotion: Performance-oriented First-Class Mail campaigns
10% discount for catalogs
The Catalog Insights Promotion offers the highest discount for brands mailing catalogs with 12+ pages, ideal for retail, DTC, and product-based businesses.
+1% add-on bonuses
Stackable with any of the above:
- Informed Delivery Add-On
- Sustainability Add-On
This brings potential savings to 7% for most mailings and 12% for catalogs.
What does this mean for marketers?
Direct mail continues to perform well in today’s marketing landscape, in part because it cuts through digital noise. With mail volume declining, brands actually face less competition in the mailbox than in the past, making it easier for their messages to stand out.
At the same time, physical mail resonates strongly with a wide range of age groups, including younger audiences who appreciate tactile, personalized, and interactive experiences. When integrated with digital touchpoints such as QR codes or USPS Informed Delivery previews, direct mail becomes an engine for cross-channel engagement, not just a standalone tactic. Combining physical and digital elements often leads to stronger brand recall, higher engagement, and increased conversion rates.
These promotions offer more than temporary savings, they provide a strategic head start. With less competition in the mailbox and more flexibility to test and innovate, brands can uncover insights that will shape their marketing for years to come. Small enhancements, such as adding a digital feature or adjusting audience targeting, can unlock both promotional discounts and performance gains.
Direct mail is experiencing a resurgence, not because it replaces digital channels, but because it strengthens them. When thoughtfully integrated, it delivers the reach, personalization, and staying power needed to convert attention into action.
Interested in taking advantage of these postal promotions for your direct mail strategy? We’d love to talk!
