STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2000--

• Study Reveals That Nearly Three Quarters (73%) Of U.S. Businesses Are Unaware Of The Pending Rate Change

• Proposed Increase Will Cost Business Mailers Nearly $2 Billion In 2001

A recent study commissioned by Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) revealed that only 27% of the mail center managers interviewed had any knowledge of the postal rate increase scheduled for implementation in January 2001. The proposed increase averages 6.5%, so this means that business mailers will pay nearly $2 billion more for postage next year. And there were still more surprises.

Among the respondents who were knowledgeable about the pending postal rate increase, less than half (45%) correctly identified January 2001 as the date when the proposed change will become effective. And, even more significantly, 60% of these same respondents believed that the increase would only impact budgets by 3%, while the USPS estimates a more substantial 6.5% overall change.

What does all this mean? Well one apparent outcome is that most business mailers won't be adequately prepared to cover their postage expenses next year. Only 29% of the survey respondents indicated that their postage budgets for 2001 were increasing. What's more, only 10% of the mail center managers interviewed anticipated any investment in mail automation systems to help offset any postage increase.

And finally, the study revealed that the vast majority of business mailers are not taking advantage of postal discounts. Only one-fifth (19%) of the mail center managers are currently presorting or barcoding in order to benefit from work sharing discounts, and these discounts can be as high as 30%.

"This study proves that business mailers are not prepared for the proposed rate increase, and this will most definitely affect a company's bottom line," said Tim Bates, Vice President, Marketing for Pitney Bowes Mailing Systems. "We are working hard to educate and prepare businesses for the rate case since the impact of these increases can usually be offset with automation solutions."

The referenced study was commissioned by the Mailing Systems Division of Pitney Bowes and conducted by ICR Research Group in September 2000. The survey consisted of 501 telephone interviews with Mail Center managers in companies with 100 employees or more. For more information on the study, please write to Kathy Raymond (Pitney Bowes, MSC 54-11, 1 Elmcroft Road, Stamford, CT 06926-0700) or Amy Firsching (Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, 909 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022-4731).

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.4 billion global provider of informed mail and messaging management. It serves 118 countries through dealer and direct operations. For more information about the company, visit www.pitneybowes.com.

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