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Email Up, Opening Down
by Jack Loechner, Tuesday, August 26, 2014 7:20 AM
According to a new Yesmail Email Marketing Compass report, an analysis of email metrics over the last five quarters, through Q2 2014, has identified key trends and
outlined major implications to help marketers plan for the defining holiday season. Over the last year, the number of emails being sent to subscribers’ inboxes has
grown by over 9% year-over-year. And, as more emails are received, recipients open fewer of them, evidenced by an overall email open rate trending down by 3%. The
declining number of openers suggests that subscribers are becoming increasingly selective, says the report. And, as the open rate declines, the decision to click is becoming an even
more selective act. Unique clicks saw a 14% decrease, YoY. This is a changing pattern of consumer interaction with email where active subscribers are consistently (and increasingly) opening,
but clicking a lot less frequently, concludes the report. The mixed message, says the report, is that the inbox continues to fill up, fewer people are opening, but the
subscribers who are still engaged are opening more than ever.
- YoY increase in Average Opens per Opener 6%
- Emails in subscribers’ inboxes have
grown by over 9%
- Unique clicks have decreased by 14%
While mobile opens account for 64.5% of all email opens, mobile clicks make up only 35% of all email
clicks. Based on the sheer number of mobile devices and the fact that email is the most popular smartphone activity according to a recent study by the International
Data Corporation and Facebook, opens on mobile trump desktop opens almost 2:1 says the report. But, while consumers are opening email on mobile nearly twice as
often as they are on desktop, they are still only half as likely to click via their mobile device. Though the average mobile click-to-open rate has been trending up over the last five
quarters, reaching 9.3% in Q2 2014, it has yet to match the desktop click-to-open rate of 22.6%. Judging from the discrepancy between mobile and desktop
click-to-open (CTO) rates, conversion in the form of a click is the biggest challenge for mobile email marketing, and converting on mobile introduces additional challenges. Due to screen size,
divided attention span while on-the-go, and varied user experience, mobile email viewers are less likely to click on a message than their counterparts sitting at their desks. Unless the
email speaks to consumers’ needs in the right context and requires an immediate action, mobile clicks will not improve significantly enough to match desktop clicks, opines the
report.
Mobile Activity By Industry (% of Email)Industry Mobile Clicks Mobile CTO Desktop CTO B2B
50% 5% 14% Consumer Services 59% 15% 28% CPG
53% 8% 26% Entertainment 47%
7% 38% Financial Services
51% 2% 12% Healthcare 41% 14% 34% Hospitality/Travel
57% 8% 19% Insurance 59% 21% 32% Marketing/Advertising
38% 5% 17% Publishing 42% 13% 26% Retail/Wholesale
56% 8% 18% Technology 43% 4% 30%
Source:
Yesmail Interactive, August 2014 Currently, consumers are still in the early-to-mid stages of adopting the mobile path-to-purchase, and
he slower adoption also translates into a slow increase of the average order size. In addition, some retailers have yet to fully optimize their email content and design to allow their
subscribers to react to their offers on-the-go, anytime, anywhere. Recognizing that getting mobile subscribers to click is harder for marketers than enticing
desktop users to click, this challenge applies to mobile purchasing as well. However, the number of mobile purchases has grown considerably year-over- year, says the report. In Q2 2014,
purchases completed on-the-go comprised 22% of all purchases, accounting for a 40% increase YoY.
Click To Purchase Desktop Mobile Q2 2014 Percent of Purchases
78% 22% Q2 2014 Percent of Revenue 84% 16%
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2014 In Q3 2013, the average
order value on mobile (AOV) was only $9 lower than desktop. In Q2 2014, the AOV for mobile was $28 lower than that of desktop, $55 vs. $83.
Average Order Value Q3 2013 Q2 2014 Desktop
Order Value $88 $83 Mobile Order Value $79 $55
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2014 On the upside, says the report,
over the last year, mobile conversion has grown as a proportion of desktop conversion. In Q3 2013, the mobile conversion rate was three times lower than the desktop one, In Q2 2014, mobile
conversion rate was only a third lower than desktop conversion rate.
Conversion Q3 2013
ConversionQ2 2014 Conversion Desktop 3.7% 2.7% Mobile 1.3 1.8
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2014 Following a discussion of relevant content,
timing and the engaged subscriber, the report concludes by noting that… Listening to what email data is saying can significantly improve holiday campaigns and
result in better subscriber engagement, shorter purchase cycle, larger active database segment, and higher revenue A path toward a record-setting fourth quarter,
requires that marketers must address the disconnect between mobile opens and mobile clicks. Two thirds of opens happen on mobile devices, but mobile accounts for only a third of clicks. And,
says the report, content must be relevant to the subscriber and inspires continued engagement with a click. For
additional information
from Yesmail Interactive, please visit here.