According to the Return Path global bi-annual mobile email report, 37% of people are now opening email on mobile devices compared with the 30% opening through webmail in a browser. Mobile open
share has increased 300% since 2010, and shows no sign of slowing, says the report, with four out of 10 emails sent being read on a mobile device.
Mobile usage is greatest among the
retail (40%), consumer product (40%) and real estate (38%) industries, says the report. The study also found that the type of information being reviewed impacts open rates on mobile devices. A
significant amount of banking-related emails (60%) are still opened on desktops, likely for security reasons.
Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path, says “... marketers who rely on open
rates... to evaluate campaign success... without using analytics to gather email intelligence... stand to lose significant revenue... ”
Ensuring email marketing campaigns are
optimized for both mobile and the desktop has emerged as a necessary step for marketers, notes the report, as mobile email has twice as many click-through conversions than search or social. Email
users still make most of their online purchases through a desktop computer, proving that optimizing for both platforms is essential, says the report.
The study shows a variance in mobile usage
by region, as more Americans open email on mobile devices than their European and South American counterparts. In most regions, Android and iOS dominate the mobile marketplace. And, the study
uncovered data that suggests mobile behavior varies depending on the smartphone operating system:
- More Apple users are using their devices to open and read email than any other group,
with the iPad seeing more growth in email opens when compared to the iPhone
- Windows Mobile saw an 85% increase in email opens since April 2012, but still only comprise 0.3% of total email
opens on smartphones
For more information from Return Path, including access to
infographics, please visit here.