Electoral roll work shows stabilising opt-out rate

Marketing services and credit reference agency Callcredit has published figures illustrating that the overall opt-out rate for the 2011 edited electoral roll has decreased for the first time.

However, the company added that regional variations are still substantial.

With 98 per cent of electoral rolls now received, Callcredit has identified that opt-out rates may now be stabilising with a one per cent decrease on opt-out rates for this year.

This news is positive for marketers but follows many years of rapid increases and hides big regional variations between local authorities, with opt-out rates differing by up to 70 per cent.

With many marketers looking to the edited electoral roll to verify their own customer data or to target potential prospects, the fact that some local authorities have more than 75 per cent opted out of the edited roll is challenging, particularly for businesses based in those areas.

The analysis illustrates the following key findings.

It reveals that 41.6 per cent of all councils have more than half of their residents opting out.

This shows a significant increase on the figure of 39.9 per cent reported in 2010 and 32.3 per cent reported in 2009.

In addition, 16.3 per cent of all councils have opt-out rates in excess of 60 per cent.

Again, this is a major increase from previous years: 14.7 per cent in 2010 and 13.0 per cent in 2009.

Chris Savage, managing director of Callcredit - Marketing Solutions division, said: 'The edited electoral roll continues to play a vital part in the direct marketing world today.

'The good news is that the opt-out rate is plateauing but it is still at a significantly high level, which continues to concern us both as a business and as an industry.

'Large regional variations still exist, which make it difficult for marketers wishing to verify customer data or target direct mail campaigns.

'There are, however, data sources available that can assist direct marketers to infill data gaps, particularly in high opt-out areas,' he added.

Savage said Callcredit's Core consumer universe is one example of these data sources.

It is said to provide marketers with continued access to almost 42 million consumers, bridging the opt-out gap with a substantial volume of prospects.

For example, the worst council areas show opt outs in excess of 70 per cent.

In these areas, Savage said Core is able to provide data to fill as much as 50 per cent of the gap.

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