Resident vs. Consumer – What’s the big difference?
One of the requests I get almost every day is to explain the difference between what is commonly called a “Consumer” list and a “Resident” list. Both terms sound similar, the same addresses may actually appear on each list, but there can be quite a bit of confusion over the list types and when each list should be used. Here is a quick breakdown:
| Resident List | Consumer List | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Definition | This is a database consisting of physical structures receiving mail. As long as an address is active and occupied, it is included in a list regardless of the makeup of the current household present. | This is a database consisting of specific households whose addresses are updated when the household moves. |
| Source | Source is the USPS Carrier Route Walk Sequence File (CDS) consisting of approximately 160 million US addresses. This is practically every record the USPS delivers to. | Source is a nationally compiled list of targeted households. Compact’s Consumer database consists of approximately 100 million US households. |
| How Compiled | Compiled and updated by USPS Postal Carriers. Maintained by the national AMS (Address Management System) office and released electronically to qualified CDS providers (such as Compact) on a weekly basis. | Compiled from multiple national sources such as census records, assessor data, retail records, credit agency reporting, telephone listings, product registrations, surveys, vehicle data and so on. |
| Demographics | Demographics appended to provide comparative characteristics on the route level, displayed as a “median” for the route as a whole. | Targeted demographics available to filter list selection on the household level such as Combined Household Income, Head of Household Age, Home Value, etc. |
| Salutation / Tag Line | Default salutation “Resident” or custom tag line such as “To our Neighbor at”. Head of household name may be appended where available for an additional fee. | Head of Household name appears on every record. |
| Postal Sortation | Carrier Route Walk Sequence, highest level of sortation discount available | None (unless requested) |
| Saturation | Saturation level always available | Unknown |
| Postal Paperwork | USPS Qualification Summary, CASS Certificate, NCOA reports when applicable | CASS & NCOA paperwork available |
| Update | Compiled Weekly, Updated Monthly | Compiled Quarterly, Updated Monthly |
| Deliverability | 97-100% | 90-95% |
So… when should you use a Consumer List versus a Resident List?
Use a Consumer List if:
-You want a household name on every record in your list
-You require that certain demographic criteria have been confirmed on the household level such as age, income or presence of children
-Importance of targeting your list outweighs the importance of postal discounts
-Importance of targeting your list outweighs chance of slightly lower deliverability
-You are mailing first class and/or don’t mind that the file will need additional presort processing to achieve automation discounts.
-You need a list that includes phone numbers for telemarketing purposes
Consumer List Example: A luxury car dealership has a specific demographic profile for households who are likely to buy their cars: Age 40+ with a $100,000+ income within 25 miles of the dealership. They also want the mailing to appear as personalized as possible, so showing household name on each piece is important.
Use a Resident List if:
-You want the highest possible postage discounts for sortation and saturation
-You want to make sure you blanket or “saturate” a geographic area by mailing to every available address
-Importance of postal discounts outweighs the importance of targeting your list
-Importance of highest possible deliverability outweighs the slightly lower deliverability of a targeted list
-You want a list that is already properly sorted and ready for mailing including appropriate postal paperwork
Resident List Example: A local pizza parlor knows that most households within 2 miles of their store will consume at least one pizza every 2 weeks. Using the Resident List they will saturate every address in the neighborhood with a coupon mailing.
Contact us for any other questions you may have on the details of the different list types!
Mary McCarty
List Services Manager