Direct Mail: Top 2025 USPS Tech Innovations to Look Out For

Advancements like cars or medicine are usually developed to address an underlying need or demand within a society.

The United States Postal Service is constantly looking for new ways to rejuvenate and streamline the direct mail process for Americans across the country.

While traditional mailers such as postcards and envelopes remain the gold standard for larger business campaigns, USPS has been making strides in recent years to push this marketing medium to new heights in both printing and shipping technology.

As part of its 10-year Delivering for America plan, the organization is currently in the process of launching several new innovations throughout 2025 and beyond. 

Here are 6 Ways USPS is revolutionizing direct mail for 2025: 

1.) Near Field Communication

During the official USPS Mailin’ It! Podcast, USPS Executive Director for Product Solutions Margaret Pepe talks in depth about up-and-coming innovations for direct mail businesses and customers. 

One interesting development mentioned in “The Power of Direct Mail” interview, Pepe discusses the ground-breaking Near Communication (NFC) technology. According to USPS, the goal of NFC is to “integrate physical and digital touchpoints seamlessly” for direct mail recipients.

As Pepe explains, the NFC takes the form of a physical computer chip embedded within the mail piece. Recipients can use their smartphones to interact with this computer chip – similar to a credit card chip reader. 

Unlike a QR code that can only direct to a website URL, the NFC chip allows users access to several different integrations and downloadable content.

The NFC’s wireless features allow recipients to access event passes, videos, product demos, and digital coupons right from their mobile device. 

2.) AR, VR, and Mixed Reality

When someone thinks of “direct mail” they probably don’t envision virtual reality. But USPS in partnership with Irresistible Mail has made headway for VR within the direct mail piece. 

For instance, imagine a postcard advertising this season’s latest shoes. Now, picture that same postcard with a special code that when scanned, allows recipients to view the advertised shoes on their feet through their iPhone’s camera. 

Virtual try-ons are not the only potential value for this technology. VR allows users to “view” items in a 3d environment, which means potential product demos in a digital space. Or other promotional material such as destination tours, games, and virtual test drives. 

3.) Tactile, Sensory, & Interactive Elements

Direct mail has always had an element of physical interaction. Some marketers even use guerilla marketing techniques to help their mail piece stand out in the mailbox. 

Interactive mail pieces that indulge the five senses can help prolong a person’s memory and recollection of a brand or advertisement, especially when multiple senses are engaged at the same time. 

USPS also understands this powerful advantage, as the organization launches its 2025 Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion in early February. 

This campaign offers discounts for marketing companies that incorporate tactile features within their advertising mail.

The USPS states that mailers that include elements like specialty inks, sensory treatments, and interactive pieces are eligible for the promotional discount. 

These new techniques, according to USPS, “create a multi-sensory experience through special visual effects, sound, scent, texture, and even taste!”

In the past, these types of interactive elements, while impactful, were much more out of reach for larger campaigns due to print and postage costs.

Which is why the USPS is taking the first step by offering discounts to the campaigns that include these sensory components into their design. 

4.) Artificial Intelligence (AI)

While AI has been a buzzword especially within tech industries, the truth is that this innovation can help modernize direct mail as well.

As Pepe notes, “we are exploring and testing the ability to leverage computer visioning technology to improve the informed delivery campaign creation and expedite the promotion approval process.”

AI certainly has its place within the modern landscape, including the marketing industry.

And Pepe further explains how this technology can help USPS improve its content approval process for a more efficient experience and utilize variable printing for a more personalized experience.

It is up to marketers to decide how reliant they will be with this future tech in terms of customization and audience targeting. 

Related: 15 Examples of Guerrilla Marketing in Direct Mail Campaigns

5.) Informed Delivery Innovations

Beginning in 2014, Informed Delivery allows customers to view their daily mail through their email inbox prior to delivery.

This successful program launched nationally in 2017, and has amassed over 62.9 million users as of 2023, with a 62.2% email open rate. 

While Informed Delivery is not a recent technology for USPS, there are currently developments in the works that may emerge in the upcoming months.

In his September interview with Mailin’ It, Senior Director of Delivery and Retail Modernization Bob Dixon mentions several potential pathways for the program. 

One such feature Dixon mentions is the “proactive visibility” for packages, which eliminates the third-party tracking ID constraint by alerting recipients of incoming packages as soon as USPS receives the item from the sender. 

Another notable upcoming feature is the Informed Delivery app. This proposed app would function like its email counterpart.

Instead of an email, however, participants can view their daily mail deliveries conveniently through the app – freeing up inbox space. 

Informed Delivery is currently only available within the official USPS Mobile app, and there is currently no announced date for the separate app. 

Related: Informed Delivery | What Businesses & Customers Need to Know

6.) USPS Delivering For America Electric Fleet

During his August interview titled “Modernizing One of the World’s Largest Vehicle Fleets”, Director of Fleet Management Justin Glass highlights the new USPS electric vehicle fleet as part of the Delivering for America initiative. 106,000 new USPS vehicles, including 66,000 electric vehicles, will deploy within the US throughout the next few years. 

Several different models and styles will be visiting local neighborhoods, including one notable design dubbed the ‘duck-bill’ truck by American audiences. 

While some individuals may be dissuaded by its outward appearance, Glass addresses these worries by explaining the design process as a “function over form” when creating the new prototypes as he states: 

“So it was designed with safety in mind, and then when you pull all that together, it gives it a little unique design. And honestly, though, as unique as it is, […] this design truly grows on you.” 

Besides new safety features, Glass explains the new truck’s heightened roof allows delivery drivers more space to comfortably stand and the larger windshield creates more visibility for drivers as they process and deliver 318 million mail pieces on average per day.

These new vehicles will help push the limits of USPS delivery rates and can withstand the intense wear and tear of constant use from delivery routes across the country. 

Conclusion

From tech initiatives to a new electric fleet, the United States Postal Service and direct mail industry are ready for the many potential new changes in 2025.

Regardless of the final outcome, USPS’s heavy investment into new technology shows how much value is placed in direct mail marketing for businesses.