Automated Customer Retention with Direct Mail: 7 Killer Examples

Your inbox has 4,287 unread messages. 

Your social feeds move faster than you can scroll. 

But your physical mailbox? That's prime real estate where a single postcard can actually grab attention.

And postcards? You can use them for automated customer retention, in exactly the same way you would with email and SMS. 

Do they work? Incredibly well. They're frickin’ ROI machines.

And the smartest brands in ecomm know it.

Check it out...

Taylor Stitch Keeps Automated Postcards "Switched On" for Automated Revenue

A few years ago, the beloved menswear brand launched direct mail and quickly graduated from one-off tests to always-on postcard campaigns targeting lapsed shoppers. 

(TLDR - incredible early results, then scale.)

These automated mailers plug gaps in their digital outreach, reconnecting with customers who've gone digitally AWOL.

For example, the team automated the above postcard to be sent to customers who have made two purchases but who haven’t purchased in 90 days.

The best part?

No discount on this postcard, and many of Taylor Stitch’s mailers. 

Luke McAlpine, VP of Brand, explained, “In a number of cases, the non-discounted message has actually resulted in a higher incremental lift, at a higher margin.”

Most of Taylor Stitch’s automated retention campaigns hit a 10x+ ROAS, turning programmatic direct mail into a year-round money printer.

By cutting through the noise with something you can actually touch, Taylor Stitch proves that setting and forgetting (in this case, an automated postcard flow) can yield unforgettable results.

HexClad's Recipe for Year-Round Retention

What started as a seasonal experiment for cookware brand HexClad has become a core ingredient in their marketing mix.

After testing, scaling, and scaling some more, the team is running a massive direct mail program (one that drives millions in revenue every year), built in part around evergreen automated customer retention postcards, or as you can see below, trifold Cardalogs^TM:

Their ongoing campaigns ensure customers receive timely offers and product highlights in their mailboxes. 

Win-Win.

This approach blends seasonal bursts with steady-state retention, ensuring there's always a "next course" ready for past customers.

Kindred Bravely Brings Moms Back (Again and Again)

Kindred Bravely, a DTC maternity wear brand, knows that new moms have limited time—and even more limited attention spans.

To stay top-of-mind, Kindred Bravely embraced direct mail early for automated customer retention. They started with one-off retention blasts (think: a special "we miss you" postcard during the holidays) and then layered in ongoing win-back campaigns to reach moms who hadn't shopped in a while.

Each postcard delivered a personal touch—whether a note celebrating the brand's anniversary or a reminder of a nursing bra sale—to re-engage past buyers.

The strategy worked so well that Kindred Bravely went full funnel, later adding prospecting postcards to acquire new customers in addition to retaining existing ones.

But retention remains a shining star: every single one of their automated customer retention campaigns drove a 10x+ ROAS. 

Portland Leather Goods' (Automated) VIP Birthday Surprises

Who doesn't love a birthday surprise… 

That isn't another generic email?

Portland Leather Goods (PLG) turned this absolutely, certainly, unquestionably universal truth into an automated customer retention powerhouse.

Using PostPilot, PLG set up triggered postcard campaigns to celebrate customers' birthdays and milestones with style.

Once a year, VIPs open their mailboxes to find a beautifully crafted birthday card—complete with a special discount or thank-you note—timed perfectly to their big day:

These aren't just feel-good gestures. 

They're SERIOUS cash generators. 

PLG's direct mail program has pulled in eight figures overall, with one birthday card flow alone generating hundreds of thousands of dollars each month at a 15x+ ROI. 

(No, that’s not a typo.)

It's a high-return approach: the customer feels valued (who wouldn't smile at a birthday card and a gift?), and PLG reaps the rewards in repeat purchases. 

By automating these VIP touches, PLG keeps its best customers engaged and looks like a gifting genius while doing it.

&Collar's Handwritten Thanks (at Robot Scale)

Menswear brand &Collar took the classic thank-you note and supercharged it with technology.

The idea: send handwritten thank-you cards to top customers, expressing gratitude and showcasing new products—without actually cramping anyone's hand. 

Enter the robots.

&Collar used PostPilot's handwriting robots that pen genuine-looking notes… At scale.

The result feels one-to-one, but it's happening thousands of times over.

The campaign struck gold. 

Those personalized cards drove over $200,000 in revenue, with the &Collar team seeing 10x+ ROAS. 

It's automated customer retention with a personal feel—new-school tech that builds old-school loyalty.

Retargeting the "Lurkers" at Ancient Crunch (MASA Chips)

Ancient Crunch co-founder Steven Rofrano knew that a good chunk of potential repeat customers never see the brand's emails—whether due to inbox filtering or unsubscribe rates. 

"Half of those people aren't getting our marketing. But everyone checks their mail," he noted.

The postcard highlights MASA's organic, three-ingredient tortilla chips with an exclusive discount on the flip side (a nudge that says, "Hey, come take that first bite!").

For MASA, direct mail automation to retarget warm leads has become as routine as restocking corn and sea salt—with all of their automated customer retention campaigns driving above a 4x+ ROAS.

Oh!mino's Postcard-Fueled Repeat Business Boom

When a supplement brand doubles its repeat purchase rate, it's worth a closer look.

Oh!mino, a fitness supplements company, did exactly that by blending smart product strategy with automated direct mail. Founder Michael Maynard wanted more than one-off buyers; he aimed for subscription-like loyalty.

To close the loop between purchases, he introduced automated win-back postcards at key intervals—say, 90 days and 120 days after a customer's first order. Each postcard is like a personal coach, reminding customers about their progress and offering an incentive to reorder.

The effect? Dramatic. 

Back in mid-2020, only about 26% of Oh!mino's sales came from repeat customers. 

Today, roughly 63% of revenue is from repeats.

That jump didn't happen by accident: those "set-it-and-forget-it" postcard nudges kept customers coming back on autopilot, lifting lifetime value across the board and driving a 10x ROAS.

That 10x return isn't just boosting ROI—it's giving Oh!mino a competitive edge in a crowded market. 

Proof that automated customer retention can flex just as hard as a top-performing acquisition campaign.

Be Awesome. Automate Your Customer Retention with Direct Mail, too.

From win-back postcards with jaw-dropping ROIs to handwritten notes that customers actually keep, the pattern is clear: smart, timely mailers drive serious revenue.

Direct mail might be (slightly) older than TikTok Shop, but in the hands of great eCommerce marketers, it's just as relevant. 

And PostPilot can help. 

We’ll fully plan, design, print, and mail all your customer retention campaigns, and you too can have a brand spankin’ new channel that drives automated revenue.

We’d say you won’t have to lift a finger, but you will have to approve the campaigns we build. That requires a few keystrokes.