{"id":29087,"date":"2026-10-29T13:40:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T13:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/?post_type=case-study&p=29087"},"modified":"2026-10-29T13:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T13:53:28","slug":"mens-grooming-direct-mail-incremental-roas","status":"publish","type":"case-study","link":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/case-study\/mens-grooming-direct-mail-incremental-roas","title":{"rendered":"National Men\u2019s Grooming Brand Earned $3.03 for Every $1 Invested with Valpak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Key takeaway:<\/strong> A national men\u2019s grooming brand\u2019s Valpak direct mail campaign generated more than $450,000 in incremental sales and a 3.03X incremental return on ad spend (iROAS), according to an independent test-vs-control study by ABCS Insights<\/a>. Households that received the mailing spent 4.69% more on the brand than a matched control group, beating the shaving category norm on every metric measured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaving is a habit category. People buy the razor they bought last time, usually on the same grocery or drugstore run, and a few points of lift is hard to come by. This campaign moved the needle on all five purchase metrics ABCS tracks, and every one landed above the category benchmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men\u2019s Grooming Campaign Results at a Glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/strong><\/td>Result<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Incremental ROAS<\/td>3.03X ($3.03 in sales per $1 invested)<\/td><\/tr>
Incremental sales<\/td>More than $450,000<\/td><\/tr>
Incremental purchases<\/td>36,590<\/td><\/tr>
Average sales per household<\/td>+4.69% vs. control (1.4X the shaving category norm of 3.45%)<\/td><\/tr>
Household penetration<\/td>+2.52% vs. control (category norm: 2.14%)<\/td><\/tr>
Sales per buyer<\/td>+2.12% vs. control (category norm: 1.31%)<\/td><\/tr>
Purchase occasions<\/td>+1.08% vs. control (category norm: 0.85%)<\/td><\/tr>
Sales per buying occasion<\/td>+1.03% vs. control (category norm: 0.46%)<\/td><\/tr>
Households reached<\/td>25 million, one drop (frequency of 1)<\/td><\/tr>
Campaign length<\/td>About four weeks, fall 2025<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How Was the Lift Measured?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ABCS Insights compared households that received the mailing with a matched control group that didn\u2019t. The groups were balanced on a full year of pre-campaign category purchases, plus age, gender, household income and geography, so the difference between them reflects the mailing rather than existing brand loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purchases were tracked through a receipt panel of 737,432 households, across all retail outlets rather than only the brand\u2019s own channels. That matters for a brand sold on store shelves: the study captured the mailing\u2019s effect on retail sales, not just coupon redemptions. The campaign ran about four weeks, and measurement continued roughly four weeks past its end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return on ad spend was calculated against total campaign investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above the Category Norm on Every Metric<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Average sales per household rose 4.69%, about 1.4X the shaving category norm of 3.45%, and the result was significant at 99% confidence. The biggest driver was new households: household penetration rose 2.52%, ahead of the 2.14% norm, which ABCS describes as a broadened consumer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smaller metrics held up too. Buyers made slightly more purchases (+1.08%), spent slightly more per trip (+1.03%) and spent more overall (+2.12%), each above its category benchmark. None of these is a dramatic number on its own. Together, they show a campaign that brought in new buyers while existing buyers spent a little more, not less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the Difference Between ROAS and Incremental ROAS?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This study is a clear example of why the distinction matters. Households reached by the campaign bought more than $10 million worth of the brand during the measurement window. Divide that by campaign spend and you get a 67.66X return on ad spend. It\u2019s a real number, but it includes every shopper who would have bought those razors anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incremental ROAS strips that baseline out by comparing exposed households with a matched control group. Here, the campaign caused $450,148 of those sales, for a 3.03X iROAS. That\u2019s the number to plan budgets around, and it\u2019s the one we report in every case study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Does Direct Mail Work for Personal Care Brands?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Valpak households spend:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n