Stop Junk Mail

The Science of Junk Busting

Door-to-Door Opt-Out Survey

Q5 - How effective is the Door-to-Door Opt-Out?

I asked this question to the 76 people who returned the opt-out form and who were able to judge whether or not the amount of unaddressed mail delivered by Royal Mail had reduced (that is, those who did not answer the question with don't know).

The vast majority (67.1%) of respondents said they find the Door-to-Door Opt-Out either 'effective' (52.6%) or 'very effective' (11%). Just under 1 in 3 people told us they reckon the opt-out is 'ineffective' (14%) or 'very ineffective' (9%). So, it's not all that bad…

Table 10 - How effective is the Door-to-Door Opt-Out?

Answer? (#) (%)
Very effective 11 14.5%
Effective 40 52.6%
Ineffective 14 18.4%
Very ineffective 9 11.8%
Don't know 2 2.6%
Total 76 100%

Interestingly, only half of the 44 householders who said they are still getting unaddressed mail items from the postman see the opt-out as either 'ineffective' (29.5%) or 'very ineffective' (20.5%). You would normally expect this percentage to be much higher, and so this response supports the conclusion that registering with the Door-to-Door Opt-Out will stop most unaddressed junk mail, but that the postman will occasionally 'forget' someone has opted out.

Table 11 - How effective is the Door-to-Door Opt-Out?

Answer? (#) (%)
Very effective 0 14.5%
Effective 20 45.5%
Ineffective 13 29.5%
Very ineffective 9 20.5%
Don't know 2 4.5%
Total 44 100%