20X
ROAS
Pets Love Fresh
Food For Thought
Pets Love Fresh, a leading provider of fresh, tailored dog food, sought additional strategies to re-engage their audience. The brand worked with Paperplanes to re-incentivise previous customers through automations such as abandon and a targeted win-back campaign, focusing on those who had lapsed subscriptions or paused orders, while exploring additional opportunities in marketing automation to boost retention.
A Walk In The Park
Paperplanes designed a personalised, campaign targeting individual customers with tailored follow-up content. The campaign included discounted incentives to encourage reactivation and featured QR codes for seamless navigation back to the subscription process. Messaging and creative elements were optimised through A/B testing to maximise engagement.
Best In Show
The combination of multiple campaigns carefully selected by the specialists at Paperplanes resulted in impressive returns with a 27% conversion rate on next best purchase campaigns. On average, we were able to drive £20 for every £1 invested across our campaigns. Our Subscription Upsell campaign was particularly successful, achieving a standout 49% conversion rate.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
“Direct mail allowed us to deliver tailored messages that resonated with our audience and drove conversions”
Josh Jenkinson, COO
59%
Conversion Rate Increase
Omni
The Hurdle
Omni is a pet wellness brand specialising in allergy-friendly food, supplements and treats for dogs. Looking to enhance their subscription and one-time purchase flows, they partnered with Paperplanes to implement programmatic direct mail campaigns focused on customer acquisition and retention across multiple touchpoints.
Taking The Lead
We developed targeted campaigns for specific customer segments, from abandoned basket recovery at 24 hours to cross-sell opportunities at 23-26 days post-purchase. Our approach integrated with both subscription and one-time purchase flows, using personalised messaging to educate customers about vegan pet nutrition while driving conversions through timely communications.
A Smoother Walk Ahead
The results demonstrated significant improvements across all metrics. Mailed customers were 58.8% more likely to convert than non-mailed cohorts, with an 8.23% higher average basket value. Website engagement improved substantially, with mailed customers 52.1% more likely to return to the site. The impact extended to repeat purchases, with 11.27% of mailed converted customers making two or more purchases.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
‘’Achieving a high conversion rate and stronger basket values proves the power of Paperplanes approach to well-timed physical communications”
Olly Johnson, Strategic Growth Advisor
10.37%
Conversion rate across all campaigns
Yorkshire Handmade Pies
An Appetite for Growth
Yorkshire Handmade Pies is a family-run producer of traditional pies made by hand, and sold directly to consumers through its Shopify store. Whilst the business had built a loyal customer base, it looked to reinforce dedicated purchasing behaviour and drive commitment to subscriptions. For this, the brand looked for a a noteable and impactful channel capable of winning the attention of occasional buyers.
The Method to It
Paperplanes and Webmart partnered to execute four trigger-based postal campaigns. With Paperplanes integrating directly with the Yorkshire Handmade Pies Shopify checkout, they were able to trigger abandoned basket mailers for new and existing customers, post second order subscription nudges, plus winback campaigns targeting customers absent for 60 or more days. Each campaign sent out personalised A4 mailers in C5 envelopes featuring personalised content, product imagery, loyalty rewards messaging, and tailored discount codes. A frequency cap was also put in place, ensuring no customer received more than one mailing every 30 days.
A Slice of Success
Across the measured period, the campaigns achieved a 10.37% conversion rate and a ROAS of £6.44 for every £1 spent, with basket values averaging at £56. The mailed cohort outperformed the control group across all four campaigns, with conversion rate uplifts ranging from 16.0% for existing basket abandoners to 136.8% for the post second order cohort. The overall response rate surpassed the JICMail industry benchmark by 220%, demonstrating the impact of personalised postal marketing within Yorkshire Handmade Pies’ customer retention strategy.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
“Paperplanes and Webmart’s execution and results gave us real confidence in direct mail as a growth channel.”
Yorkshire Handmade Pies
1305%
ROAS
DukesHill
The Ingredients
DukesHill are a premium artisan food retailer and proud Royal Warrant Holder, specialising in traditional artisan produce and luxury food gifts delivered across the UK. With strong brand recognition and product demand, the business wanted to get ahead of familiar ecommerce challenges: customers abandoning baskets, one time buyers failing to return, and lapsed seasonal shoppers. Webmart partnered with Paperplanes to help DukesHill address these drop off points whilst preserving the premium brand experience the business is known for.
The Recipe
Webmart and Paperplanes delivered a personalised, behaviour- triggered direct mail programme targeting three distinct customer journeys: basket abandoners who had not returned within 24 hours, first time buyers at the 15 day mark to encourage a second purchase, and lapsed Christmas customers approaching their purchase anniversary. Together their data-led personalisation strategy ensured every piece reached the right customer at the right moment. Each mailing was dynamically personalised with content and offers tailored to the recipient’s cohort, and a 30 day send frequency cap was applied to protect the quality of the customer experience.
The Proof in the Pudding
The programme generated a 22.22% higher conversion rate among mailed customers compared to non-mailed customers, alongside a 1305% ROAS whereby £13.59 returned for every £1 spent. Mailed customers returned to the website 24.79% more frequently, and in one 3-month window alone (July–September 2025), 2,997 customers mailed generated £33,000 in sales at a £118 average order value. Notably, 38% of customers converted without using a discount code, demonstrating that relevance and timing were powerful enough drivers on their own.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
37%
Uplift in Sales
Benefit
Mirror, Mirror
Leading women’s cosmetics brand, Benefit, teamed up with Paperplanes and Royal Mail Marketreach to implement a direct mail campaign focused on increasing online sales conversions for their eyebrow products. The beauty brand had noted a high volume of visitors who were only browsing products online, opening up an opportunity to target customers when they engaged but did not purchase. With a growing range of eyebrow products being introduced, the cosmetic company wanted to focus specifically on increasing conversions within their eyebrow range.
Getting Ready
Paperplanes teamed up with Benefit to programmatically trigger personalised letters to to customers that browsed eyebrow products on their website, but didn’t make a purchase. The letters were designed to encourage customers to complete a purchase on the exact product they viewed, promoting free delivery for the customer to strengthen conversions. Unique shipping codes were applied to each letter to track and monitor performance. The creatives comprised of a double-sided, full-colour print A4 letter and C5 envelope with elements of personalisation across both to enable maximum impact with the customer on delivery through instant brand recognition.
The Perfect Look
Mid campaign results revealed a 37% uplift in sales of eyebrow products online, with an average customer value of over £40. Results from the campaign also revealed that engagement levels had risen to over 28%. Marketreach research has previously indicated a piece of direct mail will stay present in a customer’s home for an average of 17 days. Initial findings from this campaign have built further on that insight, with the majority of customers targeted converting 2 to 16 days after receiving the mailing.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
“The team at Paperplanes have been helpful and supportive to ensure we had a smooth sailing launch. Mid way through our campaign we are happy to see some positive results comes through.”
CRM Manager, Benefit
195%
Uplift in No7 Skincare incremental sales
Boots
Unreachable Skin Seekers
Boots has a best-in-class digital strategy for delivering lifecycle CRM for their number one skincare brand, No7, with sophisticated email and app programmes driving customer engagement and repeat purchase. However, a larger proportion of their Advantage Card base only had direct mailable consent, leaving an untapped audience for customer contact. They wanted to test a customer-responsive automated mail journey in a physical format to enhance their CRM programme and unlock new sales from this hard-to-reach segment, particularly for their scientifically-backed No7 Retinol range which requires education and replenishment reminders.
Beauty Treatment Plan
In collaboration with Paperplanes, Boots initiated a trial on their No7 Retinol range, replicating their existing purchase-triggered CRM email and app programme structure as a 3-stage, customer-responsive automated mail journey. Each envelope was unique, using letter format in clear address carrier envelopes with strong Boots Advantage Card and No7 branding to differentiate from traditional one-page mailers. The creative integrated with the No7 Retinol brand campaign, weaving together succinct callouts alongside lifestyle imagery across 2 sides of A4 with clear visual hierarchy and personalised titles. Their third mailing included an optimised offer with both barcode and media code, giving customers freedom to shop in-store or online, whilst additional nudges encouraged email opt-in and app downloads via QR codes.
Youthful Returns
Boots’ targeted 3-step mail customer lifecycle programme successfully drove both product replenishment and cross-sell of the No7 Pure Retinol franchise, generating a 114% uplift in spend per mailed customer and a remarkable 195% uplift in No7 Skincare incremental sales. The programme paid itself back within the first 4 weeks of launch, proving the commercial viability of investing in physical mail for customers with mail-only consent. The success demonstrated that programmatic direct mail could effectively replicate complex digital CRM journeys whilst unlocking a previously untapped customer segment. Boots were able to expand their lifecycle marketing beyond email and app to reach their entire Advantage Card base with personalised, purchase-triggered communications.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
“Partnering with Paperplanes allowed us to unlock a significant untapped customer base who only had direct mail consent. The 3-step automated mail journey delivered exceptional results, 114% uplift in spend and 195% increase in No7 Skincare sales, whilst paying for itself within just four weeks.”
CRM Manager, Boots
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
Gousto
The Challenge on Our Plate
Gousto, one of the UK’s fastest-growing recipe kit providers, had seen digital response rates plateau. They partnered with Paperplanes to explore whether fast, personalised direct mail could re-engage lapsed customers and strengthen their existing customer journey.
Our Recipe for Success
Personalisation and speed were central to the strategy. We created dynamic mail pieces featuring weekly meal recommendations tailored to each recipient. We also tested direct discounts against QR-code offers that linked customers straight into the Gousto app, helping identify the most effective route back to subscription.
Bon Appétit
The campaign exceeded expectations. 11% incremental uplift overall. QR codes proved highly effective, driving customers directly back into the app while mailed customers showed stronger long-term retention, increasing lifetime value beyond the initial conversion.
11%
Customer reactivation through personalised automated direct mail
“We were looking for the right capability and channel to help us resurrect customers who had recently lapsed. Paperplanes integrated seamlessly with our integration tools, helping us learn best practices for reaching these customers. Paperplanes are a valuable partner for us to help aid our customers contact strategy.”
CRM Manager, Gousto