Consumer Email Tracker 2021

Once again email remains the best channel brands can use across the customer journey.

But what causes a consumer to open an email?

The Consumer Email Tracker 2021’s findings, sponsored and supported by Validity, show that recognising the brand that is sending the email is key when deciding whether someone opens an email (68% compared to 59% last year). At the same time, the importance of relevance has also increased (55%) becoming the leading factor that make consumers like brand’s emails – even more than the beloved discounts and offers (53%).

Therefore, it is important that businesses understand their customers’ preferences and have a strong relationship with them.

This year’s study has also brought to light the evolving role email has in consumers’ life. Indeed, around half of consumers (48%-56%) use their inbox as the most popular place to save important information sent by brands. At the same time, clicking on a link reported in the email (19-26%) and engaging with the brand indirectly or via another channel (19-26%) are actions with a very similar likelihood.

As Guy Hanson, Deputy Chair of DMA Email Council & Vice President of Customer Engagement Validity International, said: “Email marketing is part of a much bigger ecosystem, and the way subscribers engage with their emails reflects this. A clear indication is seen in reasons for unsubscribing, where around a fifth of responders cite negative experiences outside of the email program – a poor in-store experience or negative publicity, for example”.

As part of our analysis, we also looked at consumer groups through a range of different lenses - generation, sex, and location.

Download the full report and find out more about the evolving ways consumers engage with their emails.

Consumer Email Tracker 2021

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