• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 27, 2013

According to a new Yesmail Interactive bench mark study, directing marketers’ attention to the components of their email programs that best reflect their customers’ preferences and shifting patterns of brand interaction, 61% of consumers are now viewing email either exclusively on a mobile device or using both mobile and desktop devices interchangeably.

Consumers are communicating their satisfaction with a marketer’s messages by way of opening and clicking, says the report. In the hospitality/travel industry an average of 23.4% of subscribers are active, while in B2B, this number is 1.5%. The gap between those industries is largely symptomatic of the different types of products/services they offer, their different target audiences, as well as different database composition. The report looks deeper into how other top industries fare in terms of subscriber activity, opened/clicked in the previous 90 days.

Mobile, defined as smartphone and tablet usage, has grown significantly in the last few years and is a prominent fixture in the way consumers interact with brands. The significant difference between mobile and desktop click-to-open rates suggests a disconnect between the way marketers cater to consumers who open on mobile vs. those who prefer desktop.

• 49% of all email opens happen on a mobile device
• The average click to-open rate across all industries is 100% higher for desktop than it is for mobile. (the number of people who clicked on an email after opening it)
• 61% of active users view emails either exclusively on a mobile device or using both mobile and desktop interchangeably (‘hybrid’ or ‘hybrid viewership’ in the report)
• 1/3 of consumers are device-agnostic: they view emails on both desktop and mobile interchangeably without a commitment to one over the other (hybrid users)
• 82% of mobile activity comes from Apple. This percentage is consistent with reports on device preference based on mobile traffic and mobile email opens. Opens on other devices include Android, 17%; Blackberry, 0.17%; Microsoft, 0.32%; Other, 0.38%
• Percent of opens on mobile, 48.64%; Percent click-to-open desktop, 22.56%; Percent click-to-open mobile, 11.07%

While 49% of emails are opened on a mobile device, the click-to-open rates on mobile are, on average, 100% lower in comparison to desktop. This means consumers open emails on their mobile device half the time, but don’t take any action. However, when the same emails are opened on a desktop, consumers interact with them at a considerably higher rate.

Email Click-to-Open by Industry
Industry	% Mobile Opens	CTO Desktop	CTO Mobile
B2B	39.49%	20.88%	7%
Consumer Services	50.20%	30.38%	19%
CPG	43.51%	28.79%	12%
Entertainment	40.69%	22.40%	13%
Financial Services	51.42%	10.78%	2%
Healthcare	33.03%	41.55%	18%
Hospitality/Travel	52.59%	20.37%	9%
Marketing/Advertising	31.81%	11.71%	3%
Publishing	34.37%	31.28%	16%
Retail/Wholesale	48.46%	21.05%	11%
Technology	45.80%	11.54%	4%
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2013

When drilling into industry metrics, consumer services ranks 3rd in desktop click-to-open, but 1st in mobile click-to-open. Here are some possible explanations, according to the report:

• The majority of marketers in the consumer services industry are based online and that environment encourages consumers to complete transactions on-the-go. Since email is often a primary driver of traffic to the online-only storefronts of consumer services brands, their calls-to-action are likely easier to complete on a mobile device
• Marketers in the consumer services industry recognize their customers’ device usage patterns and optimize for their preference: 66% of their active subscribers open emails either exclusively on mobile or prefer hybrid viewership

But whether customers are exclusively mobile readers or hybrid readers, almost two-thirds of them view retailers’ emails on a mobile device. However, the retail industry lands in the bottom half in terms of mobile click-to-open rate. Due to the similar nature of the retail and consumer services industries, it seems the retail vertical has the same potential, but retailers need to harness the power of mobile-first email strategies to better engage their customers

Email Viewership Preference by Industry
Industry	% Desktop Only	% Mobile Only	% Hybrid	% Hybrid and Mobile
B2B	49%	48%	3%	51%
Consumer Services	34%	29%	37%	66%
CPG	45%	30%	25%	55%
Entertainment	39%	28%	34%	62%
Financial Services	42%	50%	8%	58%
Healthcare	52%	26%	22%	48%
Hospitality/Travel	32%	30%	38%	68%
Marketing/Advertising	45%	30%	25%	55%
Publishing	45%	22%	34%	56%
Retail/Wholesale	36%	34%	30%	64%
Technology	43%	26%	31%	57%
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2013

The B2B industry’s desktop vs. mobile preference is split almost equally down the middle with hybrid viewership comprising a minor percentage. One likely explanation is, for the B2B industry, this metric reflects subscribers’ preferred mode of business. Whether they are on the road, or at a desk, the primary device a subscriber uses to conduct business remains more consistent than the one used by consumers on their personal time.

The concept of hybrid viewership is defined as consumers’ casual transition between viewing email on a desktop and viewing email on a mobile device. In 2012, 49% of consumers were smartphone users. This number is expected to grow to 60% by the end of 2013. As consumers integrate smartphones more and more into their lifestyle, they will move away from viewing email exclusively on desktop.  The prominence of hybrid viewership indicates that subscribers are choosing to respond via the most convenient device at the time they receive the message, regardless of device preference. As a result, hybrid email viewership is a type of behavior marketers should strongly consider as part of the email experience.

In the context of email, database activity is a reflection of how successful an email program is at engaging customers, i.e. the higher the proportion of active subscribers, the more engaged the database. Maintaining a strong percentage of database activity is a good indication of an effective email program in terms of email deliverability, cadence, frequency, and content.

• The average active subscriber rate (having opened an email in the last 90 days) across all industries was 7.4%
• Over 1/3 of databases had a subscriber activity rate of 25% or higher
• Average opens per opener was 7, while average clicks per clicker was 3; On average, 43% of openers ended up clicking 
• On average, the number of messages sent to an active subscriber during a 90 day period was 2 per week (or 43 for the quarter)

Email and Engagement Count by Industry (Based on a 90-day period)
Industry	Avg.# Emails per Opener	Avg. Opens per Opener	Avg. Clicks per Clicker
B2B	10	1	1
Consumer Services	114	15	6
CPG	22	3	2
Entertainment	44	6	3
Financial Services	13	3	1
Healthcare	16	3	2
Hospitality/Travel	37	6	2
Marketing/Advertising	74	6	2
Publishing	55	9	3
Retail/Wholesale	55	8	3
Technology	20	3	1
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2013

While the email landscape has changed significantly over the last decade, delivery, open, click, click-to-open and unsubscribe rates remain relevant indicators of email performance. Knowing what data to collect, as well as how to analyze it is half the battle to better understand subscribers and, subsequently, improve all KPIs.

Standard Indicators
Industry	Delivery Rate	Bounce Rate	Open Rate	Unique Click Rate	Total Click Rate	Click-to- Open Rate	Unsub Rate
B2B	87%	13.3%	17.3%	1.6%	2.6%	9.0%	0.45%
Consumer Services	98%	2.5%	13.2%	2.3%	3.2%	17.8%	0.02%
CPG	96%	4.4%	16.0%	2.2%	3.4%	13.8%	0.16%
Entertainment	97%	3.2%	15.3%	1.9%	2.8%	12.3%	0.04%
Financial Services	92%	7.6%	23.0%	0.7%	1.4%	3.2%	0.04%
Healthcare	88%	12.5%	19.5%	4.3%	6.4%	22.2%	0.12%
Hospitality/Travel	98%	1.7%	17.7%	1.9%	2.5%	10.5%	0.03%
Marketing/Advertising	90%	10.4%	9.0%	0.5%	0.8%	5.8%	0.08%
Publishing	96%	3.9%	16.3%	2.9%	4.4%	18.1%	0.03%
Retail/Wholesale	97%	2.7%	14.7%	1.8%	2.4%	11.9%	0.06%
Technology	97%	2.9%	17.9%	0.9%	1.4%	5.2%	0.11%
Source: Yesmail Interactive, August 2013

This report was developed based on more than 5 billion emails sent by Yesmail Interactive in Q2 of 2013. Please visit here for more information: http://www.yesmail.com/resources/whitepaper/yesmails-email-marketing-compass-mobile-effect

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http://www.yesmail.com/resources/whitepaper/yesmails-email-marketing-compass-mobile-effect

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