Why new addresses matter to marketers

Our National Address Index reveals that there has been a 1.8 per cent increase in the number of new addresses in the UK since January 2020. This equates to an additional 565,487 new addresses and the creation of 17,778 new postcodes by Royal Mail over the past 23 months. The number of addresses in the UK now totals 31,254,287.

These figures show that the pandemic has not had a negative impact on the number of new addresses in the UK.

In February 2020, when the first case of Coronavirus was recognised in the UK, the growth rate of new addresses fell from 0.11 per cent in January to 0.06 per cent. This low level of growth was maintained until May 2020, when it rallied back to a growth rate of 0.1 per cent, the same level seen in December 2019 and January 2020. This reflects the period of unprecedented uncertainty and the first lockdown, and whilst building firms were encouraged to continue as normal, many reduced capacity to protect their workforce.

The Index reveals that from June 2020 up until November 2021 consistent levels of monthly growth in the numbers of addresses was experienced, averaging a 0.1% increase per month, which equates to an average of 27,000 new addresses every month.

November 2020 saw the highest change in the number of addresses at 39,345, over 12,000 higher than average, which could be indicative of the Stamp Duty Holiday Introduction in July and the pressure on the building industry to finish more projects to satisfy rising consumer demand for relocation. The subsequent removal of the Stamp Duty Holiday in September appears to have had no impact on the number of new addresses, with the next highest change in number of addresses being November 2021 with 31,950. October and September 2021 also experienced higher than average levels.

Royal Mail believes it looks like 2021 will see the highest annual growth in the number of delivery points in PAF on record. This clearly highlights the importance of regular data updates for marketers – now more than ever.

We think that the Index provides interesting insight into the impact (or lack of it) of the pandemic on the number of addresses coming on stream. This is of particular relevance to marketers since it gives an indication of the changes they might see within their customer data. If new addresses are being introduced then people will be moving into them and this means that they will have moved out of somewhere else, resulting in inaccurate data. We all know that poor data quality leads to inefficient marketing. However, it can also have more serious consequences as inaccurate data can lead to flawed business insight upon which strategic decisions are being made. The National Address Index is important as it reminds organisations about the need to update and refresh their customer data on a regular basis – meaning greater marketing ROI, accurate decision making and compliance to data protection laws.