42.7%Consumers are likely to open

emails that reference products they like or item they recently viewed

33%Consumers decide whether to

open an email based on subject lines alone

UNDERSTANDING

EMAILThe Landscape, the Recipients Rules and the Path to Success

The World Of Email Isn’t Flat

Marketers are doubling down on email. According to recent research, 61% of marketers identify email as an important or extremely important channel for customer engagement. They’re investing more resources, upping their send rates and integrating messages across multiple channels, all in the hopes of growing their lists and increasing conversions.

Marketers send a lot of emails, but whether that email gets opened, how it gets opened, and who engages with it depends on a variety of factors.

But they’ve run into a problem.Only 41% of marketers consider their emails to be personalized to the consumer. And this is at a time when consumers are exerting more controlthan ever when it comes to their email marketing relationships. 41%

Opportunities for Marketers

91% of consumers check their email daily.

Immediately a�er waking

Before goingto bed

While commuting

When traveling for business

On weekends On vacations/holidays

A Gateway to Sales

49% 54% 33% 40% 63% 58%

The Recipient’s Five Rules

Consumers say email is the top channel when it comes to pre-purchase influence

37%

66%Consumers have made a purchase online as a result of a marketing email

67%

Consumers interested in receiving real-time email o�ers

Email success depends on the industry

A Spotlight on Mobile

Total email market share

B2B Consumer Services

Financial Services

Hospitality & Travel

Insurance Publishing Retail Technology

100.5 BILLIONBUSINESS EMAILS

82.4 BILLIONCONSUMER EMAILS

DAILYEMAILS

17.6%

11.1%

31%

7%

11.5%

2%

22.6%

9.4%

30.7% 30.8%

48.3%

16.3%16.3%

20.4%

10.8%10.7%10.7%

3.4%3.4%

More than half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices.

29%

webmail

51%

desktop

20%

Emails opened onan Android device

12%

Emails opened onan iOS device

38%

Average ordervalue by device

93.94 48.10

Click-to-open rate for desktop and mobile

Consumers prefer email for commercialcommunications over any other channel74%

Sealing the Deal

Products of Interest Subject Lines

No matter your business, an overwhelming majority of email marketing recipients agree onfive basic tenets that a marketer should follow:

1. Ask for permission75% of consumers say a purchase alone does not give brands the OK to send marketing emails.

2. Make it look good80% of consumers will immediately delete an email that doesn’t display well on their mobile device. 30% will unsubscribe.

4. Keep it valuable80% of consumers initially opt-in to marketing email to receive discounts.

5. Be personal82% of shoppers say they would buy more items from a brand if the emails they sent were more personalized.

3. Stop blasting35% of consumers said their primary reason for unsubscribing is frequency of messages. 25% said the emails they were receiving weren’t relevant enough.

66% of consumers say poorly personalized emails are annoying because the attempts are “superficial.”

Three Strategies for Success

Tailor Your MessagingIt’s no secret that segmenting your lists delivers improved metrics. But those results are usually only positive outcomes for open rates and click throughs. Segmentation alone doesn’t necessarily translate to improved ROI.

Trade in your “broadcast email” strategy for a “relevant email” strategy.

Sources: Direct Marketing Association |

Harris Interactive | IBM | Litmus | Merkle

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Act In Real TimeOnly 13% of marketers use a consumer’s real-time location to drive interactions, so take the time to differentiate your email marketing from your competitors by planning your strategy around your recipients’ actions, like when they actually open a message.

Dynamically adjusting your message at the time a recipient opens an email guarantees you’re sending content that is highly personalized and the most relevant to the customer at that time.

Think Inside—and Outside—the InboxDivergent technology and a lack of design standards means the same email renders differently across devices and email clients. You don’t necessarily need responsive design to solve this problem, but you do need a solution (think fluid design). And studies show that most marketers don’t have a solid one.

Still, email design isn’t just about ensuring your messages render appropriately across all devices and channels. You also need to ensure your landing page is optimized for consumption no matter the device and that you present a consistent experience from one window and screen to the next.