The Federal Trade Commission has found that 89% of online merchants do honor consumers’ requests to stop promotional e-mails.
The FTC tested the Web sites of 100 top online merchants and found that most of the sites removed consumers from their mailing lists when asked. Letting consumers opt-out of marketing messages is a key component of the 18-month-old CAN-SPAM Act.
The FTC tested the 100 sites by signing up for promotions, updates and newsletters via e-mail. The FTC created three e-mail accounts and opted in for each to receive promotions, then monitored the three accounts for six weeks. After six weeks, FTC staffers opted out with those e-mail accounts.
Eighty nine percent of the retailers honored all three opt-out requests; 93% of sites complied with opt-out requests for at least some accounts, the FTC reports.
All of the retailers who e-mailed the FTC’s accounts gave clear notice of consumers’ right to opt out, and provided an opt-out mechanism.
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