Research carried out by the Mail Media Centre found that 90% of 16-24 year-olds open all their post, with 29% having made a purchase as a result of receiving direct mail.

Despite the susceptibility of the age group to direct mail, the majority of 16-to-24 year-olds receive only one piece of branded direct mail per week and accounted for only 1.42% of all mailings sent between June 2008 and May 2009.

The study suggested that the age group is more likely to open direct mail due to the dominance of electronic communications in their lives.

Antony Miller, head of media development at Royal Mail, said: "The lure of the letterbox is something special for the 16-to-24 year-old age group.

"The research clearly shows that advertisers are missing a trick with this valuable audience as they currently have low exposure to the channel but are also high respondents."  

However, data accuracy is essential if the age group is to be successfully targeted as the study participants were 25% less likely to open mail that was incorrectly addressed than the average direct mail consumer.