• by Jess Nelson , May 13, 2016

An opportune time for retailers to send their email marketing campaigns is during early morning commute traffic, suggests a recently released study by digital marketing agency Leapfrogg. 

Some 83% of consumers say they read retail email marketing messages during their early-morning commute hours, according to a survey of 1,000 consumers polled by the retail marketing agency. The vast majority of readers checked their email via smartphone, while 7% used a tablet.

Commuting after work is also a popular time for consumers to check their email, according to the study, with 74% of consumers checking email by mobile phone during this time period and an additional 11% checking it by tablet. 

In addition, 22% of respondents say they prefer to receive one retail email per month and only 4% say it is permissible for a retailer to send daily emails.

A third of consumers agree that personalization is important in retail email marketing messages, according to Leapfrogg’s study. 37% of respondents agreed that it was important for retailers to know their purchase history, 35% stated that it was important for an organization to use their name and a quarter of consumers prefer email marketing messages to be personalized, according to personal style and product preferences.

Regardless of timing, it’s critical that email marketers consider how subscribers will be reading marketing emails while creating email templates and designs. Emails should be designed to be easily readable with consumers on-the-go and checking email from mobile devices.

A recent study of 940 consumers by Phrasee, an email marketing technology company, revealed that 38% of readers even check their email by mobile device while using the restroom.

“Today's consumer is always on, whether it's at the dinner table or in the restroom,” says Perry Malm, CEO of Phrasee. “Marketers need to realize this. It's no longer about 2 p.m. on Tuesday's. It's now about understanding what language makes your audience tick, irrespective of timing."