Source: Article Archive
Direct mail is being repositioned as a personalization channel rather than a mass medium. Forty percent of consumers embrace AI targeting for offers, meaning the format survives on relevance, not scale. Acceptance drops sharply to 29% for AI-generated human imagery, revealing a specific trust boundary: algorithmic optimization of content feels acceptable, but algorithmic generation of human likenesses triggers authenticity concerns. For retailers deciding where to invest in AI, targeting and customization unlock permission, while synthetic representation erodes it.