Consumers who buy products through e-mail spend 138% more online than those who don’t, according to a recent study by Forrester Research. Moreover, those who do spend more impulsively than those who don’t, according to the Cambridge, MA-based researcher.
According to the study dubbed “E-mail Marketing Comes of Age,” 97% of consumers use e-mail and 94% of marketers use it, giving the channel almost universal penetration. Also, click-through rates have averaged a steady 5% since 2003, and almost a third of online consumers maintain positive attitudes toward e-mail promotions, the study by analyst Shar VanBoskirk concluded.
However, the study also included some numbers indicating there is serious competition in the average consumer’s inbox. For example, 77% of those surveyed in the third quarter of 2006 said they get too many e-mail offers and promotions, compared to 70% in early 2002 and 44% in early 2000, according to Forrester.
Also, 72% of those surveyed in the third quarter of 2006 said they delete most e-mail advertising without reading it, compared to 62% in early 2003 and 31% in early 2000, according to the survey.
Moreover, just 22% in the third quarter of 2006 agreed with the statement that e-mail is a great way to find out about new products and promotions, compared to 48% in 2000, according to Forrester. And just 13% in the third quarter of 2006 said they read most e-mail ads to see if something catches their eye, compared to 18% in early 2003 and 48% in early 2000, according to the survey.
In other findings, three in five people who forward e-mail tot their friends are women, and consumers 18 to 34 years old are the demographic segment most likely to maintain an e-mail box just for promotional messages, according to Forrester.
