Move data provides insight into shifting patterns – influenced by the pandemic – that impact marketing tactics and business priorities

Melissa, a leading provider of global data quality and address management solutions, today advised increased focus on move updates to customer data, noting nearly 36 million address changes were processed by the USPS in 2020 alone. From February to July 2020, change-of-address requests were up by 3.92 percent from the previous year. Data generally demonstrates a steady pace of moves consistent with pre-pandemic trends, but also highlights a greater number of moves away from New York and San Francisco, two of the nation’s most costly regions.

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Postal data also shows a two percent increase in permanent moves from 2019 to 2020, possibly driven by health concerns or friendlier attitudes toward remote work that are powering greater job flexibility and lower cost of living. This increased change in customer data makes it imperative that professional mailers and enterprise users of consumer data ensure their data quality operations keep pace. Accurate move data not only supports the most productive outreach to customers and prospects, but also helps data users tap into insight about how markets are shifting.

“It’s apparent the effects of the coronavirus are poised to outlast the virus itself, with more moves likely becoming permanent as people realize increased savings, greater professional flexibility, and improved quality of life by strategically relocating outside of the country’s most costly regions,” said Greg Brown, vice president of global marketing, Melissa. “As more temporary moves become permanent, marketers are presented with a unique challenge – and opportunity. Are they considering the changing face of their customer base and what are they doing to market to new locals?”

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Today, the USPS processes more than 98K address changes daily. New movers are twice as likely to change brands or service providers, have a keen interest in upgrading services, and consider direct mail a highly valued channel for receiving information during a move. They also tend to spend big on home-related needs within the first three months of a move, with expenditures greater than what non-movers spend in five years. From appliances, to furniture, to home repair and professional services, the ideal for marketers is to be first in their mailboxes, ready to capitalize on early decisions before other direct mail competitors even know these new customers exist.

In addition to National Change of Address (NCOA) validation that keeps address data current, data-driven resources such as resident/occupant lists or new mover lists can highlight a fresh opportunity or challenge in a particular market. List options may include household income, contact age group, home value, move date, distance and move from address, and much more. Further, any company can update addresses to increase data quality without necessarily contemplating a mailing campaign. Services such as Melissa’s Personator Move, a proprietary non-USPS process, allow companies to update addresses of customers, prospects, and vendors without having to satisfy the requirements for a USPS Move Update process.

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