Retailers count on e-mail to help drive sales--but overly frequent, poorly targeted e-mail currently may inspire more consumer irritation than shopping, according to recent research. A 2015 survey of more than 1,000 Internet users, conducted by First Insight, found the average consumer subscribes to 2.3 retailer e-mail lists and receives 13.1 e-mails a week from those lists. But most aren't happy about it. Two-thirds of the consumers who received six or more e-mails a week said it was “too many.” In contrast, only 21% of shoppers who received five e-mails per week thought that frequency too high. Individual retailers will want to aim for fewer than five e-mails, however; 61% of consumers said their favorite retailers only send them one or two e-mails a week. Excess frequency is not the only problem. Just 25% of retailer e-mails got opened, and the most common reason consumers gave for not opening more retailer e-mail was lack of relevance. Based on e-mails received, just 18% of respondents felt retailers understood them. Indeed, the average shopper said only about 5% of retailer e-mails were personally relevant. Unfortunately for retail e-marketers, consumers tend to express their frustration by opting out, with 45% saying they unsubscribed from a retailer’s e-mail list in the prior six months. On the other hand, the research also points out a solution: 43% of consumers said they would be more likely to open retailer e-mails if they knew the e-mails contained personalized suggestions of products aligned with past purchases, instead of promotion of products generally available or "on sale." For the study report: http://www.firstinsight.com/press-coverage/how-many-promotional-emails-a-week-is-too-many
David Kanter, President and CEO of AccuList, is a list brokerage and direct marketing expert. For more than 30 years, he has helped companies and nonprofit organizations achieve their marketing goals. With David's Direct Marketing Forum, he shares, and invites others to share, helpful direct-marketing industry news, trends, analyses, resources, and tips for success. Please read our Comment Policy.
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