‘Do you make it personal?’ asks Jersey Post

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Do Islanders still send letters and cards and what do they do with the personal mail they receive? These are just two of the questions Jersey Post is hoping to discover the answers to by sending out a survey to 20,000 Islanders from Monday.

UK postal trends have seen a significant and on-going decline in traditional mail as people turn to digital communications such as email and social media. Research in the UK has shown that personal mail now makes up less than 10% of all household mail received.

The survey, which focuses on personal mail such as greetings cards, letters and postcards, will examine the picture in Jersey and look at the frequency and volume of personal mail sent and received by Islanders, their reasons for sending it and how they feel when they receive it. It will try to understand how behaviour and society have changed over the past few years and whether there is an impact of that change.

Kevin Keen, Chief Executive of Jersey Post said, ‘We have carried out surveys in the past, asking Islanders about their view of Jersey Post, and the feedback is always useful and appreciated. But this project is different, because we want to understand the views and actions of Islanders in terms of what they post and receive and how it makes them feel. We hope to gain a clear insight of what personal mail means to people, whether behaviour is changing in Jersey, and, if so, whether there is a personal cost, both now and in the future.’

Jersey Post would like to hear from Islanders of all ages and would ask people to take just a few minutes to participate in the survey. Those who include their contact details on replies will be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a Sheaffer ® Legacy Fountain Pen worth more than £200, courtesy of de Gruchy or a year’s supply of stamps.

Paper copies of the Jersey Post survey will be delivered to a random selection of homes from Monday and can be returned by post at no cost. Alternatively, the survey can be completed online at www.snapsurveys.com/jerseypost.

The results of the survey will be collated and released publically.