USPS may slash Saturday direct mail delivery

Direct mail marketing faces a serious crisis as the United States Postal Service teeters on the edge of running out of funding.

In an effort to address the issue, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe is asking Congress to reduce mail service from six days a week to five – eliminating delivery on Saturdays.

"I regret to say that we are in a serious financial predicament today," Donahoe said Tuesday at a hearing of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee that oversees postal operations, Gannet News reported.

Eliminating Saturday delivery would save the USPS between $1.7 billion and $3.1 billion. Although Congress opposed the same idea 30 years ago, today it may go through.

Recently, the USPS has been working hard to draw attention back to the power of direct mail marketing. It announced that companies that include quick response codes on pieces this summer will receive 3 percent off their mailings. Additionally, it has launched its "Mail Works Guarantee," a postage-back guarantee for large companies that have signed on to advertise through Standard and First-Class mailings.