Consumers Appear to Appreciate Email Marketing

by Tobi Elkin, Feb 24, 2004, 12:00 AM

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Consumers who participated in a nationwide poll of their shopping behaviors during the holiday 2003 season were generally satisfied with email outreach from retailers. The telephone survey of consumers' shopping behaviors and attitudes was conducted by email marketing provider Bigfoot Interactive, in partnership with NOP World Research.

The Bigfoot poll found that during the past three months, 28 percent of all adults and 40 percent of all adults with Internet access said they currently subscribe, or have received an email communication from, a retailer. Among shoppers who received email from a retailer, 66 percent said they were generally satisfied, while nearly half agreed (strongly/somewhat) that they found "the emails relevant and targeted to their needs." But 40 percent indicated that "the retailer could do a better job sending more targeted offers based on their interests and past purchase behavior."

Wal-Mart was the retailer most frequently mentioned by consumers who participated in a nationwide poll when asked where they'd made purchases in the last three months, followed by Sears and JCPenney. More than two-thirds --or 69 percent of consumers polled--said they shopped at Wal-Mart, 36 percent at Sears, and 33 percent at Penney's.

The poll found that 86 percent of all adults, and 94 percent of all adults who currently subscribe or have received a permission-based email in the last 3 months, said they made a purchase from at least one of the retailers referenced in the study. The poll also found significant differences in the level of agreement among shoppers who subscribe or have received a permission-based email from retailers and those who have not. Those who received the emails are more satisfied overall, and more likely to make purchases and recommend the retailer to others. Some of the highest rated statements across both groups were:

"Satisfied with the retailer": (90% vs. 83%) "More likely to buy more products from this retailer in the future": (91% vs. 84%) "Likely to recommend the retailer to others": (88% vs. 81%)

In addition, the poll found that 34 percent of consumers who subscribe, or have received an email they requested from a retailer, cited concern about not receiving email due to an Internet Service Provider's spam filter or blocking error. Jupiter Research recently reported that erroneously blocked opt-in email cost marketers $230 million in 2003. Jupiter projected that the cost of such "false positives" will reach $419 million by 2008.

For this poll, 1,019 interviews were conducted among adults 18 years or older; 528 respondents were female and 491 were male.

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