What You Need to Know About the New USPS Mail Volume Incentive Plan for 2024
This just in! One week ago (Friday, August 11th), the USPS filed a plan with the Postal Regulatory Commission (the PRC) requesting to create a new mail volume incentive plan for 2024. Tom is available to share everything you need to know about this new plan!
Specifically, it will reward direct mailers for volume increases with a proposed 30% based on their average postal costs provided volumes grow in 2024. The plan will be eligible to Marketing Mail Commercial Letter Mail, Flat Mail (like catalogs), Carrier-Route Flat Mail and Marketing Mail Packages (not including Every Door Direct Mail or EDDM) as well as First-Class Commercial direct mail (excluding single piece mail and first class parcels).
While the details on this incentive are below, we’re here to simplify this news. As marketers, here’s what you need to know upfront:
This is an excellent incentive opportunity for Marketing Mail and First-Class Direct Mailers to mitigate the ever-increasing costs associated with biannual postal changes.
More importantly, we can help you navigate this incentive. Each Mail Owner can sign up for the promotion starting in November 2023 through June 2024 on the USPS Business Customer Gateway. We can help you navigate this process. It will also be imperative that in an effort for the USPS to accrue 2024 volume for each Mail Owner, it is critical to ensure that each Mailing Agent is setting up the postal paperwork properly. We offer expertise in making sure that each customer is receiving credit for each piece they are mailing. Undoubtedly, it will make a difference with this proposed incentive plan in 2024.
Specifics of this incentive include:
- Only Marketing Mail and First-Class mailers will qualify for the promotion
- Base line volume will be measured from October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023 (USPS fiscal year)
- Base line volume will be measured from at least 1 million pieces & compared with January – December 2024 volume. For example, if a DM mailed 800,000 October 2022 – September 2023 pieces and they mail 1.2 million pieces in 2024, their growth is measured as 1.2 million less 1 million = 200,000 qualified pieces. In this case, 1 million is used, rather than 800,000, because 1 million is the minimum baseline requirement. If a mailer had 3 million pieces as a baseline and mailed 5 million in 2024, the incentive will be based on 2 million pieces.
- The intent of the incentive is for Mail Owners which is defined as a business, entity, organization, or individual who makes business decisions regarding the mail piece content, directly benefits from the mailing, and ultimately pays for postage on the mail piece directly or by way of a mailing agent
- Volumes Marketing Mail and First-Class cannot be combined and must stand on their own. They are separate incentive that cannot be combined
- The proposed incentive amount is 30% of the average postage rate less discounts applied for the growth in 2024 volume
- Distribution payments will take place in July 2024, October 2024 and February 2025 and all volume dollars earned will only be applied to future postage expenses on upcoming mailings
- Any earned volume credits need to be used by December 31, 2025
- Registration for this volume incentive will commence in November 2023 through June 2024
- The proposal will still need the PRC to approve the plan before it will become effective in 2024
Let’s connect on the importance of this incentive and most of all, how your brand can benefit from it.
