When Will Response Rates Recover?

Brian DeLaite, executive vice president at the list firm Belardi/Ostroy ALC, said he heard some (slightly) positive feedback. “My sense of it is that business will pick up a bit in quarter three and quarter four. How much is anyone's guess.”

“There's pent-up demand out there,” he continued. “There seem to be some positive indicators popping up in the economy. We seem to have bottomed and started a recovery — even if slightly. All of this means that at some point soon this will likely trickle down into our industry, causing clients to mail more and consumers to spend more. So it's quite possible that this holiday, mailers/retailers could see significant improvement over last year … leading into a very strong 2010.”