• by Ray Schultz , December 14, 2017

Here is more evidence that emojis have passed their peak as an email device. A survey of 2,045 UK consumers revealed that only 5% are likely to buy from brands that use the smiling or laughing faces.

Yet these same consumers are quick to use them in their own email messages: The study, conducted by YouGov and sponsored by Pure360, found that 77% use emojis in emails to friends, and that 75% include them in messages to family, according to reports.

Of those polled, 39% feel that brands using emojis seem less serious, and 29% feel that they devalue a brand. This dislike is especially pronounced among younger consumers, 36% of whom say that emojis devalue a brand name. Older respondents are less likely to think that way.

Overall, only 7% believe that emojis make a brand seem more human.

This mirrors recent U.S. research by ContactPigeon., which found that messages without emojis had a 1.5 times higher conversation rate than those with them. However, 67% of the emails studied had them in their subject lines.

Komal Helyer, marketing director of Pure360, states that “the jury is still outon brands use emojis in their marketing efforts. As with any marketing mechanic, the use of emojis by a brand comes down to knowing the audience and understanding what they will react well to and react badly to, as a demographic.”