Prices of list rentals are declining across the board and -- for the first time ever -- show a downward trend in every business-to-consumer and business-to-business category tracked, according to Worldata's Fall 2008 List Price Index.
Permission-based e-mail business-to-business, while still the highest-priced category, shows the largest price decrease from last year, according to the report.
The second-largest price decrease occurred in permission-based e-mail business-to-consumer lists, which also saw the largest percent decrease from 2007, noted Worldata.
US-based companies are increasingly using international business-to-business e-mail lists to grow out-of-country market share. For the first time, Worldata released this pricing data, which shows a fourth quarter increase in the use of international lists for direct marketing.
This shift is driving the price of international business-to-business permission-based e-mail to an average of $420 per thousand, significantly higher than domestic list pricing, according to Worldata.
Public sector and newsletters are both the second-highest-priced categories, with October 2008 straight average prices of $174 per thousand and $165 per thousand respectively. Public sector decreased $1 per thousand from last year and newsletters decreased $10 per thousand, noted the report.
The largest price decrease occurred in the permission-based e-mail business-to-business, which dropped $12 per thousand from the previous year. The second largest price decrease occurred in the permission-based e-mail business-to-consumer lists, which dropped $11 per thousand from the previous year, according to Worldata.
The lowest price decreases occurred with attendees, consumer book buyers and public sector, each dropping $1 per thousand from last year, said the report.
Worldata said this trend was likely to continue for the next quarter or two, until the US economy is stabilized.
